Fire and Rain
by nevermore199
Summary: A young woman finds herself torn apart when her boyfriend of the past reappears to challenge her relationship of the present. AU, Takuto x Meroko x Izumi, light Eichi x Mitsuki. Rated for language, sensuality, and sexual content.
1. Love and Happiness

**Welcome to…my first chaptered story in a very long time. I'm probably asking for trouble by posting this without getting it beta-read, but that's my problem.**

**This is very AU, and has a Takuto x Meroko x Izumi love triangle, with some Eichi x Mitsuki on the side. An AU story that doesn't contain Takuto x Mitsuki! (Gasp!)**

**Before we start, let's clear up the issue of ages.**

**Meroko Yui: 25**

**Takuto Kira: 26**

**Izumi Lio: 27**

**Mitsuki Koyama: 24**

**Eichi Sakurai: 26**

**And that's everyone that matters. Enjoy the story.**

**

* * *

**"Meroko! Hey, Meroko!" 

Meroko turned around, her long, vivid pink hair flapping lightly in the breeze. "Oh, Mitsuki!"

Mitsuki smiled and waved with one hand, brushing her long brown hair out of her face. "Good morning, Meroko!" she called cheerfully. She ran towards Meroko, stumbling twice.

Meroko grinned. _Ah…you're so silly, Mitsuki._

Mitsuki slid to a stop in front of Meroko. "How are you doing?" she asked, panting slightly.

"I'm great!" Meroko replied happily. "You?"

"I'm great, too!"

"Hey, wait a minute…" Meroko frowned in confusion. "Aren't you supposed to have a date with Eichi in…" The pink-haired girl flipped open her cell phone to check the time. "…ten minutes? Why are you over here?"

Mitsuki sighed, looking sad. "He caught a bad cold and couldn't come. Poor Eichi…I feel so sorry for him…"

She continued to look depressed until Meroko said somewhat nervously, "B-but I'll bet he's already feeling better, because he knows how much you care about him."

Mitsuki perked up a little at that. "Maybe…"

"Definitely," Meroko said firmly. "You two have been going out for over three years. And you've been so sweet to him in all that time. He'll definitely feel better knowing that you're thinking of him."

"Aw, that's so sweet, Meroko!" Mitsuki laughed. "Thank you so much."

She took out her phone and checked the time. "Actually, I was going to the flower shop to get some flowers. I thought they'd cheer him up a little. Flowers always make me feel better. What should I get, Meroko? Daisies? Or maybe roses? Or…hmm…"

"Go for the daisies," Meroko recommended. "They're more cheerful."

"Yeah." Mitsuki blinked, suddenly remembering something. "Hey, don't _you_ have a date today? Where's Takuto?"

"My date's not for another half hour," Meroko replied. "I was just killing time until then."

"Oh, okay," said Mitsuki. "Well, I'd better get going." She started to walk off. "I'll see you later, Meroko!"

"Bye," Meroko said, waving.

* * *

From the window of a nearby shop, a young man stared intently at Meroko, eyes betraying nothing.

* * *

As Meroko drove her car down the street, she found herself thinking of Eichi and Mitsuki. "They make such a sweet couple," she said to herself. "And they've been together three years, and still going strong as ever…" 

_"…Huh? Izumi…I don't understand…Why do you want to…I mean…we've been going out for two years, and you…you just want to forget that…"_

Meroko shook her head firmly.

_No._

Her cell phone suddenly started ringing, and she gratefully seized it and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Hey there, Meroko."

"Takuto!" Meroko's face brightened. "What's up?"

"Not much. How are you?"

"Good." Meroko glanced out the window. "So, hey, did you need something?"

"Nah, not really. I just didn't want to have to wait another five minutes to get to talk to you."

"Aw, Takuto!" Meroko was practically melting. "You're so _sweet_!"

"Yeah, yeah…Don't get all mushy…"

Meroko giggled. "Well, hey, I'll see you in a couple of minutes, okay?"

"Alright. See you."

"Bye." Meroko closed her phone and set it back in her purse.

"_Wait! Izumi, please! Please don't leave! I'm begging you!"_

"_Goodbye, Meroko."_

"_Izumi! You can't leave! I can't live if you're not here!"  
_

"_Goodbye."_

"_No_," Meroko said forcefully. She turned the corner with such vigor that the group of women standing on the street corner stared at her.

* * *

"Takuto, hey!" 

Meroko kissed Takuto lightly on the cheek. Takuto smiled sheepishly, a light blush coming to his face.

"Hey there," he said, his voice a bit gruff. "Let's get going."

"Okay!" Meroko slipped her hand into Takuto's and began pulling him down the sidewalk, looking as though she didn't have a care in the world.

"So how's the music life going?" Meroko took a sip of her coffee.

"Pretty good, actually. I've got a recording next week." Takuto added a bit of sugar to his coffee cup. "I really hope this new song sells well. I put my whole heart into writing it. Not that I don't put my heart into my other songs, but this one…" He looked down. "Well, it's special."

Meroko gently patted Takuto's hand. "Don't worry, Takuto," she said encouragingly. "I've heard your song, and it's great. I'm sure everyone will love it!"

"Yeah…" Takuto smiled. "Thanks," he said softly.

Meroko smiled back. "Don't mention it."

They were silent for a little while; then Takuto began speaking again. "So, how's Mitsuki doing?"

"She's fine."

"And Eichi?"

"Mitsuki said he had a bad cold."

"Oh?" Takuto frowned a bit. "Hope he's okay."

"Don't worry. Mitsuki may be a bit clumsy, but she knows how to take care of Eichi." Meroko sighed. "They're so sweet to each other, it almost melts my heart."

"I know what you mean. They're perfect together."

* * *

They continued talking that way for a while; going on about any little thing they could think of to say. Finally, Meroko checked the time. "Oh, wow! We've been here for three and a half hours!" 

Takuto smirked slightly. "So what else is new?"

"Oh, go on!" Meroko swiped at him with her hand. He dodged.

"I've got to get going," he said, standing up.

"Me too."

They parted with a quick kiss and a wave.

As Meroko was walking back to her car, she thought dreamily of Takuto, and of how well everything seemed to be going.

_It's hard to believe we've been together almost six months,_ she thought. _He's so amazing. Takuto…he's just so…so…_

Suddenly, she stopped and turned around.

"That was weird…" she muttered. She thought she'd heard a sound behind her on the quiet sidewalk.

She scanned the area carefully, but the only person she saw was a little girl eating a gigantic ice cream cone.

Shrugging, she continued walking.

"I wonder what I should get Takuto for our anniversary," she murmured. "I'd really like to get him something special…something that tells him just how much he means to me. But what?"

She had arrived at her car. As she turned to get in, she froze.

She had definitely seen something.

A tall person. A tall man.

Before Meroko was able to discern any details, the man had disappeared.

"What…" Meroko muttered, looking around with slightly narrowed eyes. "Is there…is that guy following me?"

She waited for a few minutes, but nothing else unusual happened, so she finally got into her car and drove home.

* * *

All he could think of was her. 

Meroko.

Walking down the sidewalk.

With Takuto.

"So, Meroko."

_Her happy, beaming face, filled with all the sunlight of the universe. Just like before._

"You've found someone else."

_Her holding Takuto's hand._

"But…"

_Her kissing Takuto's cheek._

"…it won't be for long."

When he looked up, his eyes were filled with a burning, passionate fire.

"I will get you back, Meroko."

_Count on it._

_

* * *

_

**Before you say that you hate it, please keep in mind that I haven't done a chaptered story in a while. And Takuto x Meroko doesn't come naturally to me.**

**Yeah, I know that not much happens in this chapter. But this chapter was just to set the scene, establish the relationships, and all that other nice junk. The next chapter is when the action starts.**

**Izumi's personality in this is mostly his manga personality (not so much of a jerk), with a bit of his anime personality (a jerk) mixed in. Just saying.**

**Well, that's all until next time. Enjoy life.**

**RRE.**


	2. Reemergence

**Hello there, all, and welcome to Chapter Two of Fire and Rain.**

**This chapter is longer than the last, and it's where stuff actually starts happening. Oh, joy. I bet you all are thrilled.**

**Well, here we go.**

**

* * *

**"Hello?" 

"Hey, Meroko! It's me!"

"Oh, Mitsuki, hi! How are you?"

"Good, how about you?"

"I'm fine. How's Eichi doing?"

"He's still sick." Mitsuki broke off, and Meroko heard the sound of her switching the phone to her other ear. "But I just talked to him, and he said he was feeling a little better. I think he'll be okay within the next day or two, but I guess you never can tell…"

"Tell him I said hi, okay? And I hope he feels better soon."

"Thanks, Meroko," Mitsuki said gratefully. "So, how'd your date with Takuto go yesterday?"

"Great! Takuto's so great…" Meroko gave a dreamy sigh.

Mitsuki laughed. "You two are great together."

"Thanks. Hey, do you have any ideas about what I could get him for our six-month anniversary."

"Hmm, I'm not sure…Um, I got Eichi a new watch, but Takuto has one already, doesn't he?"

"Yeah."

"Um…I'll think about it, okay?"

"All right." Meroko tapped her foot absently against the floor. "At any rate, I can't get him anything until I get paid on Friday. I'm just about broke right now. I really shouldn't have taken yesterday off, but it was my only chance to get with Takuto all week…"

"Really?"

"Yeah. He's taking today and tomorrow to drive out to visit his parents. And he's really busy at work the rest of the week after that, with that new single of his coming out soon."

"Wow." Mitsuki paused for a moment. "Oh, sorry, Meroko, I have to get going. I told Eichi I'd be over there at eight."

"I've got to get to work, too," Meroko said. "See you later, Mitsuki. Have fun with Eichi."

"Have fun at work! Bye!"

"Bye."

Meroko replaced the phone on the receiver and sighed. She worked at a grocery store, seven days a week. It was a decent job, the pay was enough to keep her living in an apartment with enough food to eat, and most days Meroko didn't have a huge problem with it, but today, she wished she could crawl back into bed and stay there.

"Can't win them all," Meroko muttered, walking towards the bathroom.

* * *

He watched her leave her apartment, get into her car, and drive off. 

After a moment, he walked over to his own car and got inside.

As he took off, following her, it occurred to him that she might think he was a stalker.

* * *

Meroko checked her watch and gave a frustrated sigh. There were three minutes left in her shift, four people in line, and no one who appeared to be free. Which basically meant that she was going to have to stay late. Again. 

That was one of her actual problems with this job: She was the only person there, aside from the manager, who was willing to stay later than their shift called for.

She turned her attention to the seven bags of chips sitting on the conveyor belt, waiting to be scanned. As she began scanning and bagging them, she glanced at the small girl purchasing them. She looked maybe ten or eleven.

"You're gonna eat all these?" Meroko asked absently, pressing a couple of buttons on the register.

The girl nodded, her head bobbing up and down. "I'm having a sleepover. A really big one. There'll be, like, ten of us. Well, if Asuka can come. I really hope she can, 'cause she's the only one that eats that kind."

Meroko took the girl's money and gave a few inattentive nods while the girl went on to describe each of her friends and what kind of chips they liked. She absently hoped that the girl didn't think Meroko was being insincere.

When the girl finally took her receipt and bags of chips and moved along, Meroko checked her watch again and groaned inwardly. Now her shift was over by three minutes. She kept forgetting that when you talked to people, they usually answered.

The next one in line was a young man, maybe her age, with light brown hair, a huge pile of groceries, and an annoying love of talking. Meroko had to stop herself from reaching out and choking the man. She managed to keep herself pleasant enough, nodding and smiling weakly.

When she finally finished with the talkative customer, she spotted another girl coming out of the employee bathroom and waved. "Rei! Hey, Rei!"

The girl walked over, frowning at Meroko. "What do you want?"

"Can you take over my register?"

Rei sniffed. "Why should I?"

Meroko bit back a snappy retort. "My shift ended ten minutes ago."

"So what?"

Okay, that was it. She was through with being nice. "I would like to leave," Meroko said coldly.

"That's your problem."

"Come _on_, Rei. Your shift isn't over until nine. Besides, you're not busy."

Rei shoved Meroko aside. "Fine. Whatever. Get out of here." Meroko shot her a bitter glare and stalked off.

"I'm leaving," she called out to her boss, who she happened to see walking out of a room. He looked slightly concerned at her 'kill-kill-_kill_' vibe, but only waved.

Meroko slammed the button on her keys that unlocked the car door, yanked the door open, and thrust herself into her seat. That was another disadvantage of this job—the coworkers that seemed to be spawned from the core of the earth.

_Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I hate my job._

_

* * *

_By the time Meroko got back to her apartment building, she had cooled off a little bit, but still felt annoyed. 

"Calm down," she told herself. "It's okay. I get paid tomorrow. And then I can go and get Takuto his six-month anniversary present." She smiled as she got out of her car.

Her wonders about what he wanted kept her dreamily happy as she wandered up to her apartment and unlocked the door.

When she got inside, she made a beeline for the kitchen and dug around in the refrigerator, trying to find something to eat. "Um…maybe rice…" she mumbled to herself. "Or stewed leeks…um…"

She eventually decided on leek soup, and while the oven was warming up, she heard a loud knock on the door.

"Coming!" Meroko called, heading for the door.

She opened it and found nothing but an empty hallway.

"Hello?" Meroko said, looking out a little. Her head swiveled both ways. "Anyone there?"

No one answered, and after a few seconds, Meroko backed into her apartment and shut the door.

"That was weird," she muttered, walking back to the kitchen. It was probably just some new guy who thought that pranking people was unbearably hilarious. It had happened before.

As Meroko made her leek soup, she wondered, again, what on Earth she was going to do with her life. Her parents were constantly reminding her that she could do so much more than live in an apartment and work at a grocery store with evil coworkers.

Mitsuki was studying to be a doctor, but that was Mitsuki. Meroko couldn't see herself being a doctor. She barely understood any of those huge words that Mitsuki was always coming out with.

And Takuto was a singer, but Meroko had ruled out that career possibility a long time ago. She knew she was a horrible singer. She had tried singing, and then listened to a tape of herself, and felt like crying with embarrassment.

Her parents had suggested business. This had seemed like sound advice, except that Meroko had no sense of business skills whatsoever.

_Looks like I'm doomed to be a grocery store worker for the rest of my life,_ Meroko thought, feeling rather melancholy at the thought. She really didn't want to be one of those people who spent twenty years working at the same supermarket, but what other options did she have?

When her leek soup was ready, she ate it quietly, feeling faintly miserable.

Just after she had finished her dinner and put the bowl in the sink, there was another knock on the door.

"There had better be someone there this time," Meroko grumbled.

She hurried to the door, yanked it open…

And froze when her eyes fell on the person standing in her doorway.

"Hello, Meroko."

Meroko thought she could feel the color drain from her face. Her eyes widened in shock.

"…Izumi?"

Izumi nodded. "The one and only. Well, as far as I know."

Meroko felt like there was a block in her brain that refused to let her comprehend what was happening. She couldn't seem to make herself fully realize that her ex-boyfriend, Izumi Lio, was standing in her doorway, staring at her with his trademark smirk.

"What…" she started. Her voice trailed off, and she tried again. "Why are you…?"

"Why am I here?" Izumi offered.

In a daze, Meroko nodded.

"That's an excellent question. May I come in?"

Even if he had been a murderer, Meroko was too stunned to say no. She stood aside and let him in, slowly shutting the door behind him.

They both walked to the couch and sat down. While Izumi looked around, Meroko stared at him in surprise.

_What is Izumi doing here?_

Almost two years hadn't changed his appearance much. He was slightly taller, his hair a little longer, and his face a little paler. But other than that, he was more or less the same.

Meroko frowned with confusion. _Why is he here? I thought he said that he never wanted to see me again…And wait, how did he even find out where I lived? I moved after…_

She forced her throat to start working again, and managed to say, "Wh-why are you here?"

Izumi looked at her. "To say hello. Is that such a crime?"

"But…" Meroko tried to make sense of this. "But you said…you said that you never wanted to see me again…"

"Did I?" Izumi cocked his head a little. "Was that _really_ what I said?"

Meroko had to fight the urge to fidget. Even after almost two years apart, he still had the power to make her feel exceedingly uncomfortable.

"Yes. You did."

"Ah." Izumi smiled. "And did you want me to keep to that?"

Meroko couldn't quite figure that one out, so she decided to keep silent instead.

This was obviously the wrong answer. "No? You didn't?" Izumi leaned forward a little. He was definitely smirking now.

Meroko bit her lip and looked away, feeling her face going red. "Why are you here?" She tried to sound brave and strong, but her voice was barely above a whisper. "I want to know the truth."

Much to her relief, Izumi leaned back, giving her some space. "Alright, I came to do more than say hello."

"Yeah…?"

"I came to get you back."

Meroko whirled around, her eyes snapping on his. "Excuse me?"

"Or, more accurately, I came to ask you to come back to me."

Meroko's eyes widened. "What…what's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

Izumi suddenly looked a lot more serious. "I think you know."

Meroko felt her head rushing, her heart pounding. _What? He wants me back? Why? What's going on?_

Suddenly she thought of Takuto. _Doesn't he know about Takuto? It's been in the news…Or does he even care?_

"I have a boyfriend, Izumi," she heard herself say.

"I know."

Meroko was confused. "If you know, then why are you asking me to come back to you?"

Izumi locked eyes with her. "Because I don't care."

He leaned forward again, and his hand enclosed her wrist. Meroko gave a little gasp and tried to move back, but he held her tightly.

"I don't care," he repeated, searching her face. "I want you back."

His other hand reached up and cupped her cheek, and her eyes widened.

…_What…_

Suddenly she remembered Takuto.

_Takuto…_

"No," she said.

Neither of them moved for a very long moment. Then Meroko felt a sudden surge of anger, and she knocked his hand away.

"No, Izumi," she said firmly. "I have a boyfriend. I've moved on. I don't love you anymore."

Izumi's eyes narrowed very slightly at that, and a hard glint passed through them. For a long time, he didn't move, only stared at her defiant look.

Finally, he let go of her wrist. Stood up. Brushed off his shirt and headed for the door.

He placed his hand on the doorknob, then stopped.

Without turning around to face Meroko, he said, "This isn't over."

"What do you mean?" Meroko stared at him. "It's over."

"Not yet."

Meroko stiffened at the tone of his voice. Deathly serious. She knew that he definitely meant what he was saying.

"I _will_ get you back, Meroko."

He half-turned, so that she could see one of his golden eyes, and she was struck by the burning passion within it.

"Count on it."

He turned away and left.

* * *

When Meroko finally crawled into bed that night, her mind was whirling around, trying to figure out what had happened. 

_Was that…Did that really…_

Izumi was her ex-boyfriend, and she had been stubbornly trying to completely forget his existence for the past two years, ever since he had broken up with her. She had gotten over loving him, but every now and then, she thought of him. Not in a romantic way, just a "wonder-where-he-is" way.

She thought of what Izumi had said. He had meant it. She could tell.

Then she thought of Takuto. _This is bad…What if Izumi tries to hurt Takuto? What am I going to do?_

It took her a long time to get to sleep that night, and even when she finally did, she was still confused and distraught, unable to figure out what she could do to stop this.

* * *

Meroko woke up in the middle of the night. She couldn't see her clock, but it couldn't have been more than a few hours, because it was still dark outside. 

Her pillow was wet, she realized.

With a shaking hand, she touched her cheek and realized that it was soaked with tears.

She had been crying. She was crying. How long had she been crying?

She sat up, wiping tears from her face, trying to figure out why she felt so sad. Why her heart was aching so much.

Izumi hadn't been her first boyfriend, but he had been the first man she had truly loved. He had also been the first man who had ever really broken her heart.

That day when they had broken up had been a hard day for her. She had cried for hours, hating herself for making it go wrong. She never once blamed him, even though it was his fault.

After a couple of minutes, she realized that it was heartache. Her sleeping self had permitted a sadness in her, one that her waking self hadn't allowed.

Even after all this time, she still felt as though she had done something wrong. She wanted him to tell her that she hadn't.

* * *

**I've plotted out exactly what's going to happen in this story, and exactly how many chapters there are going to be. But I'm not telling you the chapter number. You have to go to my profile. Ha.**

**Schoolwork manages to keep me busy even when I don't do it, so Chapter Three may be a while getting here. There's your warning.**

**RRE.**


	3. Secrets and Suspicions

**Chapter Three, coming at you. For some reason, I've been writing like a crazy person. I love this story so much.**

**

* * *

**After getting exactly one hour of sleep, Meroko woke up feeling tired and sad. She wanted nothing more than to crawl under a rock and never come out. But she had work. And today she got paid. She had to go. 

She got ready slowly, and when she was done, she didn't bother with breakfast. She just walked out the door.

* * *

"You're five minutes late, Meroko," the manager said in a somewhat disapproving voice as Meroko stumbled in through the door. 

"Sorry," Meroko mumbled, looking down. Why was she apologizing? She didn't even care.

The manager stopped, looking at her strangely. "Are you alright, Meroko?"

"Yeah." Meroko nodded. "I'm just tired."

The manager looked somewhat doubtful, but didn't press the issue.

* * *

Meroko felt like she was on the verge of falling asleep, but she kept her head up all day long. During her lunch break, when she could have been eating, she went to her car and slept for an hour. She felt even more tired when she woke up. 

At around three o' clock, the manager came up to Meroko and said, "Are you feeling okay? You look like you're about to pass out."

Meroko shook her head. "I'm fine," she said. "Just a little tired, that's all."

The manager gave her a pitying look. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off?"

"No, really…that's okay," Meroko replied. "I'll be okay."

The manager shook his head firmly. "You need to go home and get some sleep," he said. "Go on. We've got plenty of help here. I'll go and get your paycheck, okay?"

Too tired to argue, Meroko nodded, watching the manager walk away.

_Maybe I just need some sleep,_ she thought. _The boss is right. I'll just go home, eat something, and sleep._

The manager came back a minute later with a white envelope, which he slipped into her hand. "Go get some rest, Meroko," he said gently. "If you need to call in sick tomorrow, go right ahead."

Meroko felt tears welling up in her eyes. The manager was being so nice that it almost broke her heart. He was always nice. It didn't always break her heart. "Thank you," she whispered. She pocketed the envelope.

"Do you need a ride home? I could drive you."

"No, that's okay. Thanks."

She walked away, still feeling tired, but determined not to make her boss worry anymore. He had already done enough.

* * *

Somehow, Meroko managed to drive home without crashing into anything—although judging from the car honks that kept following her, she had a couple of close calls. 

The second she got into her apartment, she stumbled into her bedroom and threw herself on the bed, letting out a groan and drifting off to sleep without another thought.

* * *

"_Izumi…" Her voice had turned pleading. "Izumi…wait…"_

_He turned his head back slightly. "Well, I guess this is it."_

"…_No…please…"_

_Izumi turned fully away and took a step forward. "Goodbye, Meroko."_

"_Wait! Izumi, please! Please don't leave! I'm begging you!"_

"_Goodbye, Meroko."_

"_Izumi! You can't leave! I…I can't live if you're not here!"  
_

"_Goodbye."_

* * *

Meroko woke up with a startled gasp at the sound of the phone ringing. She looked around wildly. 

…_A dream…?_ she wondered.

By the time Meroko realized that she hadn't answered the phone yet, it had gone to the answering machine. She hurried to the machine and got there just as the message ended.

With a sigh, she reached out and hit the Play button.

"Hey there, it's me, Takuto. Just wanted to say hi. If you can call back by nine, that would be great. If you can't, I'll call tomorrow. Bye." _Click._

Meroko looked over at the clock. Almost eight. God, how long had she been asleep?

She started to reach for the phone, but stopped.

_Wait a minute…What about Izumi? What am I going to say to Takuto about that?_

"No," Meroko said out loud, shaking her head. "I can't tell him."

_But he's my boyfriend. And if Izumi keeps following me, then Takuto is bound to find out…_

"What if he gets jealous?" Meroko wondered, still talking to her empty apartment. "What if he thinks I still love Izumi?"

_No way. Takuto's not like that. He trusts me._

This was true. Takuto wasn't the type to get suspicious without reason.

_But if he sees Izumi, he'll have a reason…_

"I'll just have to make sure Izumi doesn't show up whenever I'm with Takuto," Meroko said. She smiled and nodded. "Yeah. That's a good plan."

She took a deep breath, picked up the phone, and dialed Takuto's cell phone number.

Takuto answered after two rings. "Hello?"

"Hey, Takuto, it's me!"

"Oh, Meroko! Hey there. What's up?"

"Not much. Sorry about missing your call earlier. I was taking a nap, and I didn't get up until after the machine had gone off. So, yeah, sorry about that."

"It's okay. So, how'd work go?"

Meroko shrugged, then remembered that Takuto couldn't see her. "Okay, I guess. Other than Rei being a stupid, idiotic, egotistical little—" She cut herself off. "Um, sorry."

Takuto laughed. "It's fine."

"How'd work go for you?" Meroko asked.

"Not bad. The first recording's on Monday. Second one should be about a week or so after. Final one…maybe two weeks?"

"Sounds cool." Meroko switched the phone to the other ear. "Hey, maybe I can ask my boss to give me the day off on your final recording day, and I could come and listen to it."

"Really? That'd be great!"

"Cool! I'll ask him tomorrow, then." Meroko jumped slightly, remembering something. "That reminds me, I should probably call him and let him know I'm okay."

"Huh? Why's that?"

"Um…" Meroko felt herself starting to panic. She couldn't very well say that she was stressing over Izumi. She forced herself to remain calm. "I was kind of tired, so I took off early. I'd better let him know that I'm not sick or anything."

"You were tired? Why's that?"

"Oh, um, you know, just couldn't sleep."

Takuto was quiet for a moment, then said, "Well, I'll let you go, then."

"Okay. I'll call you tomorrow."

"See you later. Bye."

"Bye!" Meroko hung up with a little smile. Talking to Takuto made her feel a little better.

She made a quick phone call to her manager, and assured him that she was fine, that she wasn't sick, and that she would come back to work in the morning feeling well-rested and generally fine. After she was off the phone, she realized that she was starving, and dug some food out of the fridge and devoured it in about five minutes.

Just as she was about to start getting ready for bed, her phone rang again.

She picked it up on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Hello, Meroko."

Meroko was so stunned by the voice on the other line that she dropped the phone. It landed on the coffee table with a loud _clunk_.

She snatched it back up. "I-Izumi?"

"Yep."

He spoke playfully, as though he knew how much Meroko was freaking out and was enjoying it.

Meroko hated him for it.

"Why are you calling me?" Meroko found herself talking in a rushed, slightly panicked voice. "How did you get my number? What do you want?"

Izumi chuckled. "You sound a little stressed out, Meroko."

"Shut up!" Meroko felt herself getting angry, and forced herself to hold back her temper. "What do you want, Izumi?" she asked, her voice slightly more calm.

"I just want to talk," Izumi replied innocently. "Is that so wrong?"

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Aw, why not?" Izumi was still speaking in that innocent, teasing voice, and it was really starting to drive Meroko up the wall.

"I do not want to talk to you," she said, her voice hard.

"You're no fun at all." Izumi paused for a moment. "Hey, I have a great idea."

"What?"

"Why don't I just talk to your _boyfriend_ instead?"

Meroko gasped sharply. "Don't you dare!" she yelled. "Leave him out of this, Izumi!"

"Why should I? You don't want your boyfriend to know you're talking to your ex? Or is it because you love me instead of him?"

"Shut up! None of that is true!"

"So why don't you want your boyfriend to know about me?"

Meroko bit her lip and didn't answer. Izumi's first answer had been right in a way—she didn't want Takuto to think she was cheating on him. And she didn't want to drag Takuto into her past—because it was a complicated and tangled mess, and the things that Izumi could do to him scared her.

Finally, Meroko sighed resentfully. "Fine," she said, her voice resigned. "We'll talk. But we're not doing it tonight. I'm tired enough as it is."

"Alright," Izumi said cheerfully. "How's tomorrow, after you get off work?"

"Fine. Whatever," Meroko snapped. "The park good enough for you?"

"Yep."

"Fine."

"See you tomorrow, Meroko. Sweet dreams."

Meroko slammed the phone down on the receiver. It didn't break, but it made a loud and satisfying _clunk_ that she imagined was Izumi's skull cracking in two. It made Meroko feel a little better.

* * *

When Meroko got off work the next day, she was desperately hoping that Izumi had forgotten about their conversation of the night before, or that his car had broken down in the middle of nowhere, or that he had taken a plane to Brazil. 

However, she wasn't lucky. Izumi was standing by her car, grinning broadly. Meroko swore under her breath as she approached the vehicle.

"Hello, Meroko," Izumi said. He sounded as calm as though he was commenting on the weather, but the smugness was plan behind his voice.

Meroko felt like smacking him.

"Just get in," she grumbled irritably, wrenching her car keys from her purse.

* * *

Five minutes later, the two of them were sitting on a bench at the park, with Meroko seething and Izumi perfectly happy. 

"So what do you want?" Meroko asked roughly.

"You know, Meroko, you don't have to be so cold with me," Izumi commented lightly.

"_What do you want? _I do have things to do, you know."

"I won't be that long." Izumi folded his hands carefully in his lap and looked at Meroko. "Why won't you come back to me?"

Meroko practically gaped at him. "What kind of question is that?" she demanded.

"Just a question."

"I have a _boyfriend_, Izumi. You think I'm going to forget that for _you_?"

Izumi was silent for a moment. Then he said quietly, "You would have been willing to before, wouldn't you?"

Meroko fell silent, looking away. Her face was slightly pained.

"That's in the past," she responded, her voice soft. "I don't love you anymore."

Neither of them spoke for a long time.

Finally, Meroko stood up. Her hand was shaking very slightly, and she held it still.

"Look, Izumi, if that's all you came back for, I'm sorry," Meroko said forcefully. "But I have a boyfriend. I have a new relationship now. You can't expect me to give that up. I'm…I'm sorry."

She started to walk away, but stopped as a hand wrapped around her wrist.

She turned and saw Izumi standing behind her, holding her wrist, his head bowed.

"Izumi?" Meroko tried to pull away, but Izumi's grip was too tight.

Izumi waited a moment, then pulled Meroko close to him. One of his arms wrapped around her waist, while his other hand moved down and gripped her hand. He held her that way without moving.

"H-Hey!" Meroko felt herself going red as she furiously tried to pull away. "What are you doing?"

"I love you."

Meroko froze, her eyes snapping up to meet his. She was too surprised to react.

He let go of her hand and reached up to cup her cheek, his skin cool on hers. She felt herself tremble very slightly.

"I won't give up on getting you back," he said, his voice soft and dangerous. "I'll do _anything_ to make you mine."

Before Meroko could respond to that, Izumi pulled her forward and smashed his lips against hers. Meroko made a noise of surprise behind his lips and tried to pull back, but Izumi held her tight.

After a few seconds, Izumi roughly pushed her away, turned around, and left.

Meroko stood frozen, feeling her breath come out in gasps. She slowly lifted her fingers and touched her lips.

_What…what was…why did he…_

_Did he really…mean what he said?_

"Meroko?"

Meroko gasped and whirled around. Takuto was walking towards her.

"Oh! T-Takuto!" She waved, her hand jerking very slightly. "Hey."

"Hey, Meroko." Takuto smiled. "I was just taking a walk, and—" He stopped. "Hey, are you okay? You look kind of pale."

"Huh?" Meroko hurriedly shook her head. "N-no, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Takuto took a step toward her, looking concerned. "Is everything alright?"

Meroko nodded wordlessly. She tried to calm her frenzied breathing.

"What's wrong?" Takuto gripped her upper arms. "Meroko! What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," Meroko forced herself to say. She pulled back. "I…I've got to go."

"Meroko, wait." Takuto reached for her. "Please tell me what's wrong."

Meroko felt tears pricking at her eyes, but she held them in place. _No. I'm not going to cry. Don't cry._

"I've just got to go, okay?" she said. She started to walk past him.

"Meroko!" Takuto followed her. "What happened? Please let me help."

"Nothing happened." Meroko swallowed. "I'm fine, okay?" She picked up her pace slightly. Her car wasn't that far ahead.

"Meroko…"

"I'm fine, Takuto," Meroko said. She reached her car door and pulled out her keys.

"What's going on, Meroko?" Takuto asked. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

Meroko stopped in the act of unlocking her car. She bit her lip and looked over at Takuto.

"I…" she started.

She thought of that kiss. Izumi's lips on hers.

She shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she said, climbing into her car and shutting the door. She gave him one last sad look before driving off.

* * *

**I get the strange feeling that the chapter title doesn't fit the chapter. But I can't say that I care. Isn't that super special awesome?**

**RRE.**


	4. The Truth Revealed

**After some revisions and additions, here is the lovely Chapter Four.**

* * *

_I hate doing that to him,_ she thought. _He was so worried about me, and I blew him off…_

She clenched her fist around the edge of her blanket.

_But I'm doing it for him. I don't want Izumi to hurt him._

She sighed.

* * *

She got out and walked to the door, noticing that the owner of that car wasn't getting out. 

_Damn it, Izumi…_ She clenched her teeth. _Why can't you just leave me alone?_

She stalked inside and checked in, trying to hide her frustration. It didn't look like she was getting rid of Izumi very easily.

As she stepped up to an empty register, her mind was racing. _There has to be a way to get rid of him,_ she thought. _But what?_

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him come into the store, and she determinedly turned away, fiddling with the cash register.

Just then, Meroko felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, and a look of disgust briefly flashed across her face. "Rei," she greeted curtly.

"Meroko," Rei returned, her voice chilled.

"What are you doing here? Your shift doesn't start until one."

"I came to talk to the manager."

"So why are you talking to me, then?" Meroko asked bitterly.

"Is that blonde guy over there your new boyfriend?"

Meroko almost choked. "No way! Of course not! What are you talking about?"

"He's staring at you," Rei explained coldly.

Meroko looked over in the direction Rei was pointing. Izumi was indeed standing against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, a faint smirk on his face as he stared directly at her. The smirk grew slightly as he noticed her gawking at him.

She shot him the angriest glare she could muster, then returned her attention to Rei. "He is _not_ my boyfriend."

"Your loss. He's amazingly hot."

Meroko grimaced. "Don't even go there. He's a jerk."

"And I care? He's _hot_."

Meroko rolled her eyes. "God, Rei, you are so shallow."

"Gee, thanks," Rei replied sarcastically, walking off. Meroko let out a frustrated sigh and turned to the young woman who was standing in line with a few groceries.

"Hi," she said, attempting to eliminate the dark look on her face. "I'll ring those up for you."

* * *

Meroko spent the day ignoring Izumi and trying to suppress her anger at the fact that he was so blatantly following her. The manager noticed her anger, but didn't comment on it for a while. 

After about the fifth complaint, however, even he couldn't stop himself. "Meroko, is something wrong?" he asked. "I've been getting a lot of complaints. People have been saying that you've been acting really mean."

"I'm sorry," Meroko snapped. "I'm just in a bad mood right now."

The manager flinched slightly at her tone. "Anything I can help with?" he asked hesitantly.

"No."

"Well…alright." The manager took a few steps back. "Just try and be a little more friendly with the customers, alright? If I get another complaint, I'll be forced to dock your pay."

Meroko swore under her breath as the manager walked off. That was all she needed.

_Calm down,_ she told herself. _I'm almost done with work._

She thought about Izumi. _But how do I get out of here without him following me?_

All of a sudden, her cell phone rang. Meroko snatched it out of her pocket and answered.

"Hello?" she said immediately.

"Hey, it's me."

"Takuto!" Meroko smiled. "Hey! How's it going?" She looked around to make sure her manager wasn't anywhere nearby. Talking on the phone during her shift was against the rules, and she was already walking on thin ice thanks to all the complaining customers.

"Not bad. Are you done with work?"

Meroko lowered her voice to a whisper. "Almost."

"Oh." Takuto sounded guilty. "I forgot."

"It's okay. My manager isn't around. So, did you need something?"

"Well…I was just…" Takuto began nervously. "After yesterday…I was wondering if you were okay."

"Oh." Meroko's face fell. "Listen. I'm really sorry about that, Takuto. I was just…really wound up…I couldn't control myself. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Even on the phone, Meroko could hear the smile in Takuto's voice. "I was just worried about you."

"Thanks," Meroko said softly. "That really means a lot."

"So, do you want to do something tonight?"

"Yeah, sure! Hey, why don't you come over to my place? I'll cook us something for dinner."

"You don't have to do that. I could take us out."

"No, really, I want to," Meroko insisted. She still felt bad about what she had done last night, and she wanted to make it up to him in any way she could.

"Alright. What time?"

"Um. Seven thirty sound good?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll see you then."

"Alright." Meroko's face softened. "I'm sorry about last night."

"It's okay. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks," Meroko said gratefully. "I'll see you later."

"See you."

They both hung up, and Meroko felt slightly more hopeful as she pocketed her phone.

After finishing with an elderly man in the line—thankfully without yelling—Meroko went to find her manager. "Hey, my shift's over, but I'm going to pick up a few groceries before I leave, okay?"

The manager smiled. "Sure. You seem a lot better."

Meroko nodded, smiling back. "Yeah. I just needed to calm down a bit. I'll see you later."

She departed her manager's office with a little wave.

* * *

As Meroko got the groceries she needed, she thought of Izumi again. She wanted to get home without him following her. She didn't want him intruding upon her date with Takuto. 

_But how do I get rid of him?_

After several seconds of thinking, she had an idea.

With all her groceries, she walked through Rei's register. "Hey, Rei," she said brightly, piling her groceries on the conveyor line.

Rei's eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"

"So, hey. I had an idea."

"What's that?"

"You know that blonde guy over there?" Meroko casually pointed in Izumi's direction.

"What about him?"

Meroko kept her voice calm. "I think maybe you should go and talk to him."

"Talk to him?" Rei did her best to appear coldly indifferent, but Meroko could see a bit of interest flash through her eyes. "Why?"

"Well, I was talking to him earlier. He said that you're cute," Meroko commented. She was amazed at how well she could lie.

"Really?" Rei replied. She was beginning to look excited and slightly breathless.

Meroko nodded. "Yeah. I bet you two would get along great."

"Huh." Rei finished ringing up Meroko's groceries. She cast a quick glance over at Izumi, then looked away.

As Meroko paid for her groceries, she had to hold back a smile. She had a good notion of what would happen if Izumi and Rei started talking. It was just a matter of when.

When Meroko had gone through the line, Rei quickly closed down her register, much to the anger of the boy standing behind Meroko. She messed with her hair for a moment. "How do I look?" she asked.

"Great," Meroko assured. "I'm sure he'll love you."

Rei nodded and hurried over to Izumi.

"Hi," Meroko heard her say in a gushing voice. "I'm Rei. What's your name?"

With a faint smile on her face, Meroko picked up her bags and left the store without looking back.

* * *

Meroko felt confident as she drove home. She knew Rei well enough to know that Izumi wouldn't be getting out of that store for a while. She was quite pleased with herself. 

She carried her groceries in and unloaded them, beginning dinner. She hummed lightly as she worked. She couldn't carry a tune to save her life, but it was fun regardless.

Once she was close to being finished, she glanced over at the clock. Twenty-five minutes after seven.

_Perfect. I'll be done right when he gets here,_ Meroko thought with satisfaction. She grinned.

She finished up with dinner, and just as she had set everything out, the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" she called out cheerfully, running to the door. She fluffed out her hair and dusted off her shirt. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the door open.

Her heart suddenly caught in her chest. A little gasp tore from her throat.

"Hello, Meroko," Izumi said.

"Izumi!" Meroko felt herself beginning to blush. "What are you doing here?" She suddenly thought of Takuto. "You can't be here!" she shouted at Izumi. "I have someone coming over! Get out of here!"

Izumi laughed mockingly. "What, you still haven't told your boyfriend about me?"

"Shut up!" Meroko's flush was angry now rather than embarrassed. "Get out of here!"

Izumi smirked. "I don't think so."

Before Meroko could react, Izumi's hand flashed out and closed around her wrist. He pulled her into the hallway, spun her around, and shoved her against the wall.

Meroko let out a cry as her head banged into the wall. She looked up at Izumi. "What are you doing?" she demanded. She unsuccessfully tried to push him away.

Still smirking, he leaned closer. "That idea with that girlfriend of yours was pretty clever," he said, his face inches from Meroko's. "It took me a while to shake her off."

Meroko kept struggling for a while, giving up when she realized that he wasn't going to let go. "Why won't you just leave me alone?" she asked finally. "I already told you that I don't love you anymore."

His smile faded, and his expression became unfathomable.

She looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer.

Slowly, he reached up with one hand and held her neck, gently feeling it. She gasped with surprise.

"Hey—" she started.

He interrupted her by leaning forward and pressing his lips against her cheek. She froze in shock.

Her voice was barely above a whisper. "What—"

He backed up the slightest fraction of an inch. "I love you," he whispered, his breath hot on her cheek.

Meroko squeezed her eyes shut. "Stop it," she said faintly. Her heart began to beat faster.

Izumi closed his eyes and kissed her tenderly at the corner of her mouth. His lips brushed against her lower lip. Meroko felt herself tremble involuntarily.

"Why won't you come back to me?" he asked, his voice seductive and silky.

Meroko shook her head. "Stop it," she repeated, her voice slightly stronger.

He opened his eyes and stared at her briefly. "Why?"

His hands moved up and enclosed her face. Meroko struggled to turn her head away, but her protests were ignored.

He leaned in close, until their lips were only half an inch apart.

"Meroko," he whispered, his hot breath fanning out across her face.

Meroko's eyes were wide with fear and shock, staring right back at Izumi. Every warning signal in her brain was flashing before her, telling her to move, or do _something_, but she was frozen.

_...No..._

She was too shocked to move when Izumi suddenly pressed his lips against hers in a hard kiss.

This one was rougher than the last, and this time, Izumi didn't back away. He kept going, attempting to pull her closer to him at the same time.

She wasn't playing. She shoved at him and kicked him until he broke off the kiss.

"I said stop it!" she shouted, glaring at him. "Leave me alone!"

He wasn't playing anymore, either. He pushed forward to try again.

"Get away from me!" she yelled. She shoved him away with more strength than she knew she had.

He reached out and grabbed her upper arms with a bruising grip. She flinched with slight pain.

"Izumi…stop…" she said, feeling her voice shrink. She made an attempt to shrug his arms away.

He shook his head. "No," he said. His voice was low and dangerous. "I won't stop, Meroko. Not now. Not ever. Not until you're mine again."

Meroko shuddered violently at the threat in his voice. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading. "Izumi—"

As he started to lean towards her, she backed away as far as she could, but her head bumped against the wall. Her eyes widened in fear. "No—" she began.

"Get away from her!"

Both Izumi and Meroko turned and looked down the hallway, startled. Takuto was standing at the edge of the hallway, staring directly at the two of them, his eyes blazing.

"Takuto!" Meroko cried. "It's you!"

Takuto didn't answer. He strode over to where Izumi and Meroko were standing and forcefully pulled Meroko away from Izumi, drawing her protectively into his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a low voice.

"I'm fine," Meroko whispered. She looked up into his eyes, and was shocked by the amount of rage there.

"You…" he said darkly.

Meroko's head whipped around, and she looked at Izumi, who was meeting Takuto's glare with a cool, appraising look.

"What's up?" he said innocently.

"Don't give me that!" Takuto snapped, taking an angry step towards Izumi. "What the hell were you doing?"

"Nothing," Izumi replied, his voice still painted with that false innocence.

"What the hell do you mean, _nothing_?" Takuto clenched his shaking hand into a fist. "You were kissing my girlfriend!"

Meroko bit her lip in worry. _How much of that did he see?_

"What? You mean Meroko hasn't told you who I am yet?" Izumi cast a teasing look towards Meroko. He shook his head. "It's not good to keep secrets from your boyfriend, Meroko."

"Knock it off, Izumi!" Meroko shouted, glaring.

"Aw, what's wrong? Am I bothering you?"

"Shut up!" Takuto yelled, taking another step toward Izumi. "Or I'll wipe that stupid smirk off your face!"

"Oh, yeah?" Any trace of humor vanished from Izumi's face; he now looked deathly serious. "Just try it."

"Hey!" Meroko stepped forward in alarm. "Cut it out, you two!"

"Maybe I will!" Takuto shouted back to Izumi, ignoring Meroko.

Izumi's eyes narrowed slightly, and he took a step towards Takuto.

Meroko raised her voice. "Stop it!"

Both Takuto and Izumi looked at Meroko. Meroko felt herself blushing, but she stood her ground, looking defiantly at the two of them.

The awkward silence was broken when one of the apartment doors opened, and a young dark-haired woman came out and groaned, "What's going on out here? I was sleeping."

Takuto, Meroko, and Izumi all looked at the woman. Meroko spoke after a few seconds, her voice shaking slightly.

"S-Sorry, Mrs. Yamanaka," she said apologetically, casting her gaze downwards. "We were just talking, and I guess we got kind of loud."

Mrs. Yamanaka looked carefully at Takuto and Izumi, then nodded. "Just make sure you keep the noise level down," she warned, retreating into her room and shutting the door.

For a long while, none of the three spoke. Finally, Takuto looked at Izumi and said quietly, "Get out of here."

Izumi looked over at Meroko, who went pink but kept her gaze down. He stared at her coolly for a few seconds, then turned around.

"Fine," he said bluntly. "But this isn't over. You haven't seen the last of me. Neither of you have."

Without another word, he walked off.

Takuto glared after him, turning to Meroko when he was gone. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, his voice low. "He didn't hurt you?"

Meroko shook her head. "No," she whispered. "I'm alright."

Takuto looked at the open door to Meroko's apartment. "Maybe we should step inside." Meroko nodded and led Takuto into her apartment, shutting the door.

They made their way to the couch and sat down, neither of them saying a word.

Finally, Takuto spoke. His voice was still quiet and controlled, as though he were containing himself from shouting. "Who was that?" he asked.

Meroko bit her lip and looked away, not answering.

Takuto looked at her. "Meroko."

After a long pause, Meroko sighed. "His name is Izumi," she said.

"I picked up on that. I meant, who _was_ he? Why was he here?" Takuto broke off for a moment. When he started talking again, he sounded hurt. "Why was he…kissing you…?"

Meroko turned back to face Takuto, and met his eyes with a gasp. Takuto looked deeply hurt, and she thought she saw the faint beginnings of tears forming in his hands.

She reached out and gently touched his hand. "Takuto, I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"What was that?" Takuto whispered back. He swallowed. "Why did he…Why were you…Have you been…"

Meroko quickly picked up on what he was talking about. Her eyes widened in shock. "Takuto, no! Nothing like that!"

Takuto looked her straight in the eye. "Then what was it?"

Meroko looked at him, then turned away. She let out a long sigh. "He's Izumi Lio," she said resignedly. "He's my ex-boyfriend. And, to sum it up in one sentence, it looks like he's trying to win my heart back."

Takuto's face darkened. "He's trying to _what_?"

"It's okay!" Meroko said quickly. "I don't like him in that way anymore. Really."

"I mean, it's not okay for him to be harassing you like that!" Takuto's hands balled into fists. "Do you want me to track him down?" he asked seriously. "Talk to him?"

Meroko had a feeling that Takuto was thinking of something other than talking. "Takuto, it's alright. I'll just tell him to leave me alone."

Takuto looked doubtful. "That didn't seem to be working before."

Meroko went red. "Um…Takuto…how long were…how much of that did you see?"

"More or less the whole thing."

They were silent for a while. Then Takuto said, "Meroko, why didn't you tell me about Izumi?"

"I was…afraid." Meroko bit her lip. "Afraid that Izumi might hurt you. Afraid that you might think I was involved with Izumi. Afraid that you might think I didn't really…want to be with you." She sighed. "A lot of reasons, I guess. But all of them were stupid. I should have just told you the truth. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Takuto put his hand on Meroko's shoulder. "I understand. You had your heart in the right place."

Meroko gave a smile. It was weak, but it wasn't fake. "Thanks, Takuto."

She glanced over in the direction of the kitchen. "Oh, hey, dinner's getting cold. You want to eat?"

Takuto stood up. "Sure."

* * *

They both ate their slightly chilled dinner without talking, and Meroko could tell that Takuto was thinking of Izumi. The silence was desperately uncomfortable, but she didn't say a word. 

_Takuto…_ She cast him a pained look. _I should have told you the truth…Then maybe this wouldn't even be happening…_

She looked down, feeling slightly ashamed. _I shouldn't have kept it from you…_ She sniffed.

Takuto looked up. "Meroko?"

Meroko didn't answer. She only shook slightly.

"Meroko?" Takuto sounded worried. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Meroko bowed her head more, her hair falling over her face. She felt tears pricking at her eyes, and she clenched her teeth, willing herself not to cry.

Takuto reached across the table and moved Meroko's hair out of the way, just in time to catch a tear as it from her eye and streamed silently down her face.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Meroko choked back a sob and shook her head, not trusting herself to speak. Another tear slipped from her eye, and she hurriedly wiped it away.

Takuto stood up and moved around the table, kneeling down beside Meroko.

"Meroko, I'm here, okay? It's going to be alright."

He wrapped his arms around Meroko, and Meroko gave a sniffle and let a few more tears fall.

_Takuto…Thank you…_

_Thank you for being there…_

_You're always there for me…even though I don't deserve it…You never leave…_

…_Thank you…_

_

* * *

_

**And there you have it.**

**Rei was unexpectedly useful. I originally only intended her to be a plot device used to tick Meroko off, as if Izumi needs any help with that. But she came in handy here.**

**Well, fare-thee-well.**

**RRE.**


	5. Fights and Fate

**I'm sorry this chapter took so long. But it was a hard chapter to write, and I had writer's block on it for a while. But here it is. Yay for that. **

* * *

Meroko slept badly that night. Her mind was plagued by surface dreams that left her feeling sad and fitful. When her alarm clock started going off, she had only gotten a couple hours of sleep.

Before Meroko left for work, she made a decision. She knew she needed to talk to someone about this entire situation. Mitsuki had been her best friend for years; she was the only person Meroko trusted enough to talk to about her developing love triangle.

She called Mitsuki, and by some miracle, Mitsuki picked up on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"It's me."

"Hey there, Meroko. What's up?"

"Mitsuki, we need to talk," Meroko said, getting right to the point. "Are you free tonight?"

"Um, yes," Mitsuki replied, sounding a bit surprised. "Do you want to come over?"

"Sure." Meroko glanced at the clock. "I'll come over after I get off work. If I haven't dropped dead from stress by then."

"Meroko, is everything okay? You've been acting a little off lately."

"No, everything's not okay," Meroko said flatly. "But I can't go into it right now; I have to get going or I'll be late for work. I'll tell you all of it tonight, okay?"

"Okay. See you later, then."

"Bye."

Meroko quickly hung up and grabbed her purse, trying not to think about the upcoming night. _She's my best friend; she deserves to know what's going on. Besides, if I don't talk to _someone_ about this, I'm going to lose my mind._

She drifted toward the door, letting out a sigh. "Just focus on getting through the day before you go worrying about tonight," she muttered to herself.

* * *

When Meroko arrived at the grocery store, Izumi was nowhere in sight, to her immense relief. 

_Thank God,_ Meroko thought. _I was afraid he was going to show up again…_

It also happened to be Rei's day off, which meant Meroko wouldn't have to see her at all. That was definitely something to be thankful for. Rei was sure to be mad at Meroko for whatever had happened with Izumi, and Meroko wasn't looking forward to another confrontation.

"Maybe I'll finally have a normal day at work," Meroko said to herself, walking in. "With all that's going on, a normal day would be great."

* * *

Much to Meroko's surprise, she did have a normal day at work. Actually, her day was better than normal, because Rei didn't come in for the last few hours like she usually did. 

Meroko was in high spirits as she drove home. _Finally, a normal day. A little bit of luck. Thank you, presence in the sky. Or whatever's up there._

As she pulled into a parking spot in front of the apartment building, she suddenly remembered something. _Oh, God! I'm supposed to go meet Mitsuki!_ Her good mood immediately took a slight dive. She wasn't looking forward to talking about all that had been going on.

_But I've got to do it._

Meroko sighed and began backing up the car.

* * *

A few minutes later, Meroko got out in front of Mitsuki's house and looked up at the lighted windows. During the summer, Mitsuki lived with her parents.

As Meroko walked towards the door, she thought she heard a noise behind her. Instantly she whirled around, but saw nothing. Her heart sank slightly. _This is starting to seem familiar…_

A bit perturbed, she turned and started to take a step toward the door, but stopped suddenly. Her gaze drifted towards the alley next to Mitsuki's house. Maybe she was seeing things, but Meroko could have sworn she saw a flash of color there.

Her eyes narrowed. _No way…it couldn't be…could it?_ She was starting to feel worse and worse about this.

She looked up at Mitsuki's house, then back toward the alley. _It's best if I don't go near that alley,_ she thought. _Just ignore it._

"_I love you."_

Meroko's eyes widened. _Huh?_ She shook herself a little.

"_I won't give up on getting you back. I'll do _anything_ to make you mine."_

Meroko squeezed her eyes shut. _Izumi…Why am I remembering what he said…?_ Her hands clutched the side of her head. "Stop it…" she muttered.

"_You don't want your boyfriend to know you're talking to your ex? Or is it because you love me instead of him?"_

"I don't!" Meroko yelled.

She looked up suddenly. Everything was quiet. Her shout echoed in her mind.

After a long pause, she looked back at the alley, then ran for it, standing at the entrance.

"H-Hello?" she whispered, peering inside.

A man with dark brown hair and black eyes stepped forward. He was dressed in all black, and looked around her age, maybe a little older.

"Yes?" he said. His voice was smooth and calm.

"Oh…" Meroko sighed. "Oh. Sorry. I heard a noise back here, and I thought you were someone I knew." She bowed slightly and took a step back. "Sorry about that…"

As she turned to leave, a hand closed on her wrist, and she looked back, startled.

"What—" She was cut off as the man dragged her backwards into the alley and pulled her against him, placing one hand over her mouth.

"You're coming with me, girlie," he said in a low voice. Meroko tried to scream, but her attempts were muffled by the man's hand on her mouth.

_No…! No!_ She struggled furiously, kicking at her captor. "Mmmph!"

The man holding Meroko let out a frustrated sigh. "Man, would you _shut up_?"

A cry of pain tore from Meroko's throat as a fist slammed into the back of her head. Stars swam in Meroko's eyes, and she came close to passing out, but managed to stay conscious. She groaned as the back of her head throbbed.

Meroko's captor groaned again. "What, another one?"

Meroko shut her eyes and braced herself for another hit.

She heard the sound of someone getting hit, but it wasn't her. At the same time, the hand on her mouth vanished.

Confused, Meroko looked around. She gasped in shock when she saw none other than Izumi, standing there with his fist clenched. The dark-haired man was lying on the ground, his hand on his jaw. A trickle of blood streamed from his lip.

"Get out of here," Izumi said threateningly.

The man didn't need to hear it again. He immediately ran off.

The second he was gone, Meroko fell to her knees, breathing hard. That whole thing had been more than a little traumatizing, and her head was really hurting.

"Meroko!" Izumi kneeled down next to her, looking concerned. "Are you okay?"

Meroko nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine…" She forced herself to stand up. Now that the whole thing was over, she was starting to feel very nervous about being so close to Izumi. "Um, I really have to…" She gestured in a random direction, feeling her face start to warm up. "I'm supposed to meet Mitsuki…"

"You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, really, I'm okay…" Meroko smiled nervously.

"What about your head? It looked like he hit it pretty hard…"

"You saw that?" Meroko placed a hand on the back of her head, wincing. "How much of that did you see?"

"I got here in time to see him hit you." Izumi shook his head, looking angry. "That guy…He deserves much worse than what I did to him."

Meroko's eyes widened. "Well, really…it's fine…I'm sure you won't see him again…" She stepped toward the entrance of the alley. "Well, I'm really—I mean—" She broke off, trying to work out what to say. "Um, thanks…thanks for your help."

"You're welcome." Izumi hesitated for a moment. "You know, Meroko, I still haven't given up."

Meroko went red, but Izumi's words didn't really come as a surprise. "I…I know." She looked away. "I should probably…I'll just be—"

"Meroko?" a new voice said.

Meroko looked toward the alleyway entrance and gasped when she saw Takuto standing there.

"Oh, Takuto!" She hurried toward him. "What are you doing here?" Inside her mind, she was praying, _Please don't see Izumi, please don't see Izumi, _please_ don't see Izumi…_

"I was just—" Takuto broke off, looking around Meroko. "Hey, is that _Izumi_?"

Meroko winced. _Crap._

"What's he—" Takuto looked at Meroko. "Why is he—hey, why are you holding your head like that? You alright?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Meroko said. "No big deal. Well, I really should be—"

"Wait a minute!" Takuto glared at Izumi. "Did _he_ do that to you?"

"No!" Meroko shook her head hurriedly. "No, Takuto, he didn't."

Takuto's eyes narrowed. "Then how—"

"Your girlfriend was in trouble, and I helped her out," Izumi supplied. He folded his arms. "A 'thank you' would be nice."

"Takuto, it's true," Meroko offered. "Some guy was trying to kidnap me, and Izumi chased him off. It was that other guy who hit me. Really."

Takuto looked at Izumi doubtfully. "Really?"

Meroko nodded. "Yes." She touched Takuto on the arm. "And it's fine, Takuto. It doesn't even hurt that much."

Takuto smiled. "That's good."

After a moment of silence, Izumi took a step forward. "So why weren't _you_ here, Takuto?"

Takuto's face darkened. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Izumi smirked. "I was here to help Meroko, and you weren't. Why is that?"

Takuto's eyes popped with anger. "You little—how _dare_ you—"

"Izumi, knock it off," Meroko said firmly. She turned to Takuto. "It's okay," she said gently. "It was my fault—I was the one who went into the alley—"

"But if he were really a _good_ boyfriend, wouldn't he have been here instead of me?" Izumi asked mockingly.

Takuto shook violently. "Shut up," he said in a low voice, his hands clenching into fists.

"Stop it, Izumi," Meroko said warningly.

Izumi shrugged innocently. "Hey, what did I do? I'm just pointing out certain facts. Like the one where he wasn't here like he should have been."

"I said _SHUT UP_!"

Takuto flew forward and punched Izumi in the jaw. Meroko gasped in shock.

"Takuto!" she cried.

Izumi rubbed his cheek. "Hello to you, too," he said. "What are you getting all worked up for? I'm only telling the truth."

"Get out of my sight!" Takuto yelled. He lunged for Izumi again, but Izumi was ready this time. He moved out of the way, and Takuto stumbled a few steps down the alley.

"It's true, and you know it," Izumi said.

Takuto straightened up and turned around. His breathing was a little hard, but he looked just as angry as ever.

"You're wrong…" he panted. "You're the one who's really hurting her…It's _you_ she doesn't want around…"

Quick as a flash, Izumi leaped forward and punched Takuto on the cheek.

"Takuto!" Meroko screamed, her eyes wide with distress and horror. "Stop it, Izumi!"

Takuto rubbed his jaw, still glaring at Izumi. "It's alright, Meroko," he muttered.

"He's right," Izumi said, stepping toward Takuto. "Someone as worthless as him deserves this."

Takuto stood up straight, clenching his fist again. "You're the one who's worthless."

Meroko began running towards the two men. "Stop—"

Izumi raised a fist. "We'll see who's the worthless one."

"Takuto, Izumi, _please_—"

"Bring it on," Takuto challenged.

Izumi's fist swung toward Takuto—but it wasn't Takuto who yelled in pain.

Takuto and Izumi both gasped.

Meroko was standing in front of Takuto, her eyes wide and blank, her mouth open. Izumi's fist had landed right in her stomach.

Meroko let out a choked cough. She clutched her stomach, groaning in pain.

Izumi backed up, looking horrified. "Meroko—"

"Meroko!" Takuto put his hands on Meroko's shoulders, completely forgetting about Izumi. "Meroko, are you okay?"

Meroko managed to nod, although her breathing was slightly shallow. She looked up. "Where's—?" she started.

She broke off, looking confused. Izumi was nowhere to be seen.

Takuto looked angry. "Good riddance to him." Meroko bit her lip but didn't respond.

"Sorry about all that," she said apologetically, standing up straight. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't gone into the damn alley, none of this would have—"

"Hey, don't blame yourself," Takuto said firmly. "Izumi was the one who punched you in the stomach."

"Because I got in the way."

"Well." Takuto shook his head. "You should have just left him to me."

"And you two shouldn't have been fighting," Meroko retorted. She winced and put a hand on her stomach again. "Ouch. I'm getting punched all over the place tonight."

"You sure you're okay?" Takuto gave her a concerned look. "Do you want to come to my house and rest for a minute?"

"No, sorry, I'm supposed to be meeting Mitsuki," Meroko replied. "I'm already late."

As she started to leave the alley, Takuto reached out and took her hand. "Wait—can I talk to you for just a second?"

Meroko started to protest, but stopped at the look on Takuto's face. It was both serious and nervous at the same time.

"Um…sure," she said. She looked at the house next to her. Mitsuki was probably sitting inside, wondering where on Earth Meroko was. Still, it would only take a minute to talk to Takuto, and it was something important, if his facial expression was anything to go by.

She walked back into the alley and stood against the wall. "What's up?" she asked.

Takuto shuffled his feet and cast his gaze downward. He looked a little nervous. "I have to tell you something."

Meroko raised an eyebrow. "Sure."

"Um…I…" Takuto struggled with his words for several seconds. "I know that this is really sudden and everything…and I understand if you don't…feel the same way I do."

Meroko felt a trace of apprehension. "Okay…"

Takuto took a step toward Meroko, and Meroko was forcibly reminded of the many times Izumi had approached her that way over the last few days. She immediately shoved that thought out of her mind.

"Meroko…"

Takuto looked up, staring directly at Meroko with passion in his eyes.

"I love you."

Meroko's eyes widened, and a barely audible gasp fell from her mouth.

"What—" she started. Takuto held up his hand, silencing her.

"Let me finish," he said. Meroko gave a dazed nod, and Takuto took a deep breath, then continued speaking. "I know that this is kind of sudden. I mean, we haven't even been going out for six months, and I'm already saying this…" He went slightly pink and looked away. "And…if you don't feel the same way, then I understand."

He looked back at Meroko.

"For a while, I wasn't sure of how I felt. I didn't know if I loved you or not. But tonight…after seeing you hurt like that…I knew." At this point, he couldn't help smiling in spite of himself. "I guess Izumi did help me with something after all. He showed me what my feelings really were."

Meroko stared at Takuto with a look of blank shock. _Takuto…is in love with me…?_

"Takuto…" she began. "…I…"

"It's okay," Takuto interrupted, smiling. "You don't have to answer me right away. I understand. I'll still love you anyway."

He began walking toward Meroko, with a new kind of deliberateness in his step, and Meroko was too frozen with shock to move. She had no idea what to expect. Was he going to kiss her or something? Not that they hadn't kissed before. But now, with this confession hanging in the air, would it be different?

Slowly, tenderly, Takuto brushed the hair back from Meroko's face and kissed her forehead.

"I love you," he whispered.

* * *

**Ah…the fateful confession. Takuto says he loves Meroko. Izumi says he loves Meroko. Poor Meroko is confused.**

**Once again, I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to write. The fight scenes were really hard to do, because I'm not very good at writing that kind of stuff. I hope you like it, though.  
****  
RRE.**


	6. Torn Heart

**And here is Chapter Six. Meroko's confused, Takuto's a little guilty, and Izumi's really guilty.**

* * *

Ten minutes later, Meroko was still standing against the alley wall, her face painted with shock. Takuto had left, leaving Meroko alone with her confused thoughts.

_Takuto…When did he start loving me? I never knew he thought of me like that…I knew he _liked_ me…but I never thought he loved me…_

Meroko closed her eyes. _And…what about Izumi? He says that he loves me, too…but when he broke up with me, he said that he didn't…_

She brought her hands up and clutched her head, moaning. _I'm so confused…They both love me, but I don't know how I feel anymore…_

…_What do I do…?_

"Meroko?"

Meroko's head snapped up. Mitsuki was standing at the alley entrance, staring at Meroko with surprise and worry.

"Are you okay?" Mitsuki asked, hurrying towards Meroko. "I came out here to wait for you, and then I thought I heard you back here…"

She broke off when she saw tears forming in Meroko's eyes. Her own eyes widened with distress.

"Meroko? Meroko, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Shaking, Meroko turned her head away, trying to hide her tears. Mitsuki placed her hand on Meroko's shoulder. "Meroko," she said softly.

With that, Meroko threw her arms around Mitsuki and let her tears fall. Mitsuki held Meroko tightly, patting her best friend on the back as she sobbed.

"It's okay, Meroko," Mitsuki whispered. "I'm here, okay? It'll be alright."

* * *

Izumi sat down on a park bench and buried his face in his hands. The image of his fist in Meroko's stomach was still fresh in his mind. It had been an accident, true, but seeing his beloved hurt like that…hurt by _him_…again… 

_Meroko…_ Izumi's hands shook. _How could I do that to you? Why is it that every time I reach out for you, I hurt you?_

…_Why?_

"Excuse me?"

Izumi looked up. A young man with light brown hair and gray eyes was looking at him with a slightly apologetic expression on his face.

Izumi cleared his throat. "What?"

"Do you have the time?"

"No, sorry."

The man sat down next to Izumi. "You look a little troubled," he said. Izumi rolled his eyes at the man's brilliant deduction. "Anything wrong?"

Izumi sighed. "Just problems with a girl. Nothing special."

"Maybe I could help," the man offered.

Izumi turned and looked closely at the man sitting next to him. "Do I know you?" he asked with slightly narrowed eyes. "You seem a little familiar."

The man shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you've seen me around somewhere."

"What's your name?"

"Eichi Sakurai."

_Ah,_ Izumi thought. Now he remembered. Back when he'd been going out with Meroko, Eichi had been the boyfriend of Meroko's best friend, Mitsuki Koyama. He'd always seemed like a nice enough guy. The only problem Izumi had ever had with him was that he didn't go away when you really wanted to be alone, but instead stayed around to offer his help until you either gave up and told him what was wrong or up and left.

"So, do you need any help?"

Izumi sighed again. He wasn't really in the mood for talking. But on the other hand, he remembered that Eichi had always been good with romantics. He and Mitsuki had still been going out when Izumi broke up with Meroko, so surely he was doing something right…

"…Do you think you could give me some advice?"

* * *

"Thanks so much for letting me spend the night, Mitsuki." 

Mitsuki smiled. "Hey, no problem! It's just like when we were in elementary school, remember?"

Meroko smiled back. "Yeah," she said quietly.

"So." Mitsuki sat up a little straighter. "Are you ready to talk?"

Meroko sighed. "Yeah, I guess." She looked down. "The truth is…there's been a bunch of stuff going on. With me and Takuto and…someone else."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Um…a love triangle?"

Mitsuki's eyes widened. "Really? What happened?"

"Um…" Meroko cleared her throat. "You remember Izumi, right?"

"Yeah. Why, did you run into him?"

"…You could say that…"

* * *

On his way home, all Takuto could think about was Meroko. That alley. What he had just _said_ to her. 

_She didn't say anything…_ Takuto's brows furrowed with thought. _Maybe I shouldn't have said anything…Meroko might feel like she has to answer me, and I don't want her to feel burdened…_

He sighed. Even though he wasn't so sure that telling Meroko that he loved her was the best idea, he hadn't been lying. He had meant every word he said.

_I know how I feel. I love Meroko. I love her._

Takuto glanced out the window. _But she might not feel the same way I do…She likes me…but does she love me? What if she loves Izumi?_

Takuto hurriedly shook himself. _No way. Meroko would never do something like that. If she did love Izumi, she'd break up with me. She would never lead me on. She'd never do that to anyone._

As Takuto turned the corner, he tried to reassure himself, but a single question kept popping into his head.

_What's going to happen now?_

* * *

"And that's when you found me in the alley," Meroko finished. 

Mitsuki's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "Oh, wow…"

Meroko sighed. "I know. My life has been nothing but problems lately."

"Um…I don't know what to say…"

"Yeah, I know." Meroko fingered the end of her skirt. "So, which problem's worse? The one with Izumi stalking me and trying to win my heart back, or the one with Takuto loving me when I don't have a clue how I feel?"

"Well…" Mitsuki thought a moment. "Maybe you should talk to Takuto about all this."

"But he hates Izumi," Meroko pointed out. "They were fighting pretty hard. And if I hadn't stepped in the way, it might have gone a lot farther."

"He's your boyfriend, Meroko," Mitsuki said. "Don't you think that he deserves to know what's going on?"

Meroko sighed. "Yeah…but I feel so awkward when I think about him now. I mean…" She gave Mitsuki a slightly desperate look. "Takuto loves me. And…and I know he wants me to feel the same way, but…" She looked away. "I just…I don't want to tell Takuto that I love him if I don't really mean it, you know?"

Mitsuki nodded. "I understand."

"And what about Izumi?" Meroko continued with a groan. "He says that he loves me, too…What am I supposed to tell him? He wants me to feel the same way, and I used to, but I thought I didn't anymore."

Mitsuki gave Meroko a careful look. "_Do_ you still love Izumi?"

"I…" Meroko's face was pained. "I thought that I didn't. I thought that I was over Izumi. But now…ever since he showed up, I haven't been so sure…I thought that I didn't love Izumi anymore…"

Meroko looked out the window, her face pained.

"But what if I was wrong?"

* * *

"Wow," Eichi said, leaning back on the park bench. "That sounds like a lot to deal with." 

Izumi nodded. "It is." He sighed. "I was wrong to let her go. I made a mistake. But how do I let her know? And what if she really doesn't feel the same way anymore?"

"The only way you'll know is if you ask." Eichi's face softened. "Just tell her that you're sorry. Tell her how you really feel."

"Weren't you listening? I tried that."

"You just have to show her how much you care. Don't force yourself on her; be gentle."

Izumi looked skeptical. "And if that doesn't work?"

Eichi patted Izumi's shoulder. "If she really doesn't love you anymore, you have to be willing to let her go. Sometimes, loving someone means that you have to do what's best for them. Even if it means that you're not in the picture."

"So…" Izumi turned his head away to hide the pain on his face. "So…are you saying that I should just let her go? Again?"

"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that you have to be willing to let her love who she wants to, even if it isn't you."

"I don't know if I can do that."

* * *

That night, Meroko kept shifting from one side to the other, on the floor underneath a blanket that she had borrowed from Mitsuki. Her best friend was sleeping soundly in the bed, but Meroko was wide awake. 

Although Mitsuki had done her best to comfort Meroko, and although Meroko did feel a little better, she was still very preoccupied.

_Takuto…Izumi…Takuto…Izumi…_

Meroko closed her eyes, feeling tears pricking at the lids. _I have to choose between them? How am I supposed to do that? How do I choose who to love?_

A single tear slid down Meroko's cheek, and she closed her eyes tighter.

_What do I do…?_

_Someone tell me…tell me what to do…_

* * *

The next day at work, Meroko was a little surprised to note that Izumi still hadn't shown up. 

_I wonder what's up?_ Meroko thought. _Maybe he's stopped following me? That would be nice…_

At that moment, her cell phone rang. Meroko took a quick look around to ensure that her manager wasn't around, then answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Meroko."

"Oh…" Meroko's face fell slightly. "Takuto. Hi."

"I just…wanted to make sure you were okay. After…after last night. You know." Takuto sounded a bit nervous.

"Yeah…" Meroko blushed. She hurried into the bathroom so that her manager wouldn't see her talking on the phone. "Um, Takuto, listen…There's something I need to tell you."

"Yeah?"

Meroko stared at her reflection in the mirror. _Calm down, Meroko. You can do this._

"Takuto…about last night." Meroko hesitated for a moment, then continued. "It's…it's great that you love me…and you know that I really like you as more than just a friend."

"Y-Yeah."

"But…" Meroko sighed. "Takuto, I understand that you want me to say that I love you, too…but…right now…I'm just not sure how I feel. You understand, don't you?"

"Yeah, Meroko. Of course I do."

"It's not that I don't love you, Takuto," Meroko said, her voice more gentle. "I honestly don't know whether I do or not. I just need a little time to think about how I feel. You know, sort it out. Do you understand?"

"Of course."

Meroko smiled. "Great. Thanks a lot, Takuto."

"Sure thing."

There was a long silence, then Meroko said, "Well, um, I'd better get going. I'm at work…and…you know my boss…"

"Yeah…" Takuto agreed. "You're right. Well…I'll…see you around, then."

Meroko nodded, then belatedly remembered that Takuto couldn't see her. "Yeah. Okay. See you."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Meroko hung up with a sigh. _That could not have been more awkward._

* * *

As she walked through the halls of the apartment building, Meroko couldn't get her mind off that phone conversation with Takuto. She felt bad for a reason she couldn't quite identify. 

She turned into the hallway leading to her apartment, and noticed something colorful lying on the floor in front of her door. Frowning with confusion, she hurried to the door, skidding to a halt when she saw what was lying at her feet.

A bouquet of roses. Red roses. Six of them.

"Oh my gosh…" Meroko whispered, leaning down and picking up the roses. "They're…they're beautiful…but where did they come from…?"

She noticed a small envelope tucked in with the roses. _Huh? What's that?_ She pulled the envelope out, and gasped when she saw what was written on it.

_To: Meroko_

_From: Izumi_

"Izumi?" Meroko said in awe. "Izumi left these?"

She stood there in shock for a long time. Finally, she opened the envelope, pulled out the letter, and unfolded it. Taking a deep breath, she started to read.

_Meroko,_

_I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to hurt you. I know that a bouquet of roses isn't the best apology out there, but I know they're your favorite flower, and I couldn't think of anything else._

_I just wanted you to know how sorry I was—am. So…I'm sorry._

—_Izumi_

Meroko's hands were trembling by the time she finished reading the letter.

_Izumi? Izumi sent these? He apologized?_

She was still staring at the roses in shock when a woman came out of her apartment, noticed her, and started shaking her to snap her out of her trance.

**

* * *

**

**The next chapter is going to be a big long flashback chapter. And when I say long, I mean it.**

**Oh, before I go. I'm considering making this story into the first one of a trilogy. Does anyone like this story enough to approve of the trilogy idea? I know it's a little early to tell, but I want to know that people are actually going to read a trilogy if I write it.**

**RRE.**


	7. What Could Have Been

**This was one of my favorite chapters to write. But, yes, it does contain some sexual content. And a lot of flashbacks. And it's ridiculously long. But I like this chapter. Hope you like it too.**

* * *

Sitting on her couch, Meroko stared at the floor, her hands folded in her lap. Her gaze occasionally drifted up to the bouquet of roses sitting on the table. 

_Izumi._

With a sigh, Meroko stood up. _Maybe something to drink would help._ She walked into the kitchen and started making coffee.

_Izumi._

She couldn't stop thinking about him.

_What if we hadn't broken up? Would we still be together?_

She sighed again. A little part of her believed that was true. That maybe they could have been a lot more than they were.

At first, she remembered, she had wondered about their relationship a lot. She had wondered if it would really work. Especially with the strange beginning it had had…

* * *

"_Mitsuki, hey!"_

_Meroko waved at her friend, who was sitting over at the table of the burger restaurant, waiting. Mitsuki looked up with a smile and waved back._

"_Hey there, Meroko," she said cheerfully. "Ready to get our food?"_

"_Yeah, sure." Meroko set her jacket on the empty chair of the table. "I'll go get it." She carried her purse over to the counter and ordered some food._

_As she was talking to the person belong the counter, Meroko noticed someone staring at her out of the corner of her eye. When she was finished, she turned her head directly toward the person in question._

_He looked to be about her age, maybe a couple of years older. He had fiery golden eyes blonde hair that slightly resembled a mop, although perhaps not as long. He was dressed in a yellow suit and a black vest, which looked oddly out of place at a burger restaurant._

_And he was staring directly at her._

_He certainly saw her looking right back at him, but his gaze never wavered._

_Meroko felt a little disconcerted by his direct look. Most people, when they were caught staring, looked away. But not him._

_Finally, Meroko looked away with a slight shudder. She walked back to the table and sat down._

"_Hey, are you okay?" Mitsuki asked. "You look kind of pale."_

_Meroko cast a quick glance over at the strange man, who was now thankfully absorbed in stirring his coffee. She turned back to Mitsuki. "Someone was staring at me," she whispered._

_Mitsuki's eyes widened a little. "Who was it?"_

"_You see that blonde guy over there?" Meroko pointed._

_Mitsuki turned and looked. "Oh, him?"_

"_Do you know him?"_

"_No, I've never seen him. Do you know him?"_

"_Nope."_

_They were both silent for a minute. The waitress came with a tray containing two burgers, two containers of fries, and two drinks. Meroko and Mitsuki thanked the waitress, who left with a glance that clearly said she would rather be elsewhere._

"_So what have you been doing lately?" Meroko asked finally, eating a fry._

"_Not much," Mitsuki replied._

"_When do you go back to college?"_

"_Day after tomorrow."_

_They continued talking like that for a while, until Meroko happened to glance at the man from before, and squirmed when she saw his gaze on her again._

"_That guy's staring at me again," Meroko whispered, looking down._

_Mitsuki paused in the act of sipping her drink. "Are you sure you don't know him?" she asked quietly._

"_Yeah, pretty sure."_

_Mitsuki frowned. "Okay." She stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom, okay?"_

_Meroko nodded, watching nervously as Mitsuki walked off. For some reason, she didn't really want to be alone when that guy was still there._

_She shivered. "I'm just being paranoid," she muttered. She took a bite out of her hamburger. "Just being paranoid."_

"_Hello."_

_Meroko almost had a heart attack at the sound of the voice. She looked up, startled, and froze at the sight of the man who had been staring at her._

"_May I sit with you for a moment?" he asked._

_It took Meroko a few seconds to stop gaping and find her voice. Finally she said, "I…my friend's sitting there…"_

"_Then do you want to sit with me for a moment?" He gestured over to his table._

"_Um…" Meroko fidgeted a little. "Well…she'll probably be looking for me…I don't want her to worry…"_

"_It's not that far. She can see the table from here."_

"_Uh…" Meroko bit her lip, feeling herself grow warm. "Well…I guess so…"_

_She stood up and slowly followed him back to his table, sitting down across from him._

_He stared at her for a while, during which time she blushed and looked away. At last he said, "I'm Izumi."_

_Meroko quickly looked at him, a bit surprised. "Say what?"_

"_Izumi Lio. And you are?"_

"_Um…I'd rather not say."_

_Izumi nodded. "I can see why. I suppose my staring hasn't exactly made you feel comfortable."_

"_Um…"_

"_Sorry about that."_

"_Uh…no problem…"_

_Izumi placed his hands on the table. "So would you like to go out with me sometime?"_

_Meroko went brilliant red. "E-Excuse me?"_

_Mitsuki had returned from the bathroom by this point, and was watching the two from a distance, her face worried. Meroko shot her a frantic look, then returned her attention to Izumi._

"_What do you mean?" Meroko realized she was practically shouting, and made herself shut up._

"_You seem nice," Izumi said off-handedly, as though he was commenting about the weather. "And you're beautiful."_

_Meroko's face went, if possible, even redder. "What…what…what…"_

_Without seeming to notice her panic attack, Izumi pulled a slip of paper and a pen out of his pocket and pushed them across the table._

"_Here. Write down your address. I'll pick you up at seven this Friday."_

"_Wait a second!" Meroko cut in quickly. "I haven't agreed yet! You don't even know me! We just met!"_

"_Come on." Izumi sounded like he was teasing now. "It'll be fun. What have you got to lose?"_

"_My sanity?" Meroko suggested. When Izumi didn't laugh, she sighed. "Oh, fine," she said resentfully, snatching the pen and scribbling her address on the paper. She thrust both at him when she was done. "Here. I've got to go. My friend's waiting on me."_

_Izumi nodded. "That's fine. I'll see you Friday." His face seemed neutral enough, but his eyes were twinkling with laughter._

_Still red in the face, Meroko stalked away and sat down at her table._

"_Meroko?" Mitsuki leaned forward a little, looking concerned. "Hey, Meroko, what happened? Are you okay?"_

_Meroko was too embarrassed to answer for a minute. Then she finally glanced up at Mitsuki and whispered, "I think I have a date Friday night."_

* * *

Even after everything that had happened with Izumi, Meroko couldn't help but giggle when she thought of that day. It had been such a strange way to ask a girl out. 

She had asked him once, not long after they had officially started dating, why he had first asked her out in such a strange manner. He had made some remark about her being strange, and she had punched him in the shoulder. He had laughed gently at her lack of strength.

_That first date…_ Meroko looked at the coffee that was brewing, then looked away. _When it started…_

_

* * *

_

_Meroko cast a nervous glance at the clock. 6:59. Izumi was coming in exactly one minute._

"_Oh, God," Meroko mumbled, looking back at the mirror. "God. Um, does my hair look okay?" She nervously touched her pink hair._

Why am I so nervous?

_She couldn't figure out why she was nervous. It was just a date. With a guy that she barely knew. Big deal._

_There was a knock on the door, and Meroko screamed._

"_Hello?" a muffled voice called. "It's me, Izumi. I'm not going to attack you…"_

_Meroko gave a deep sigh. "It's just Izumi. It's just Izumi." She walked to the door and opened it._

_She sucked in her breath when she saw Izumi. He had dressed up. He was wearing a white shirt and light brown pants, and a black tie._

"_Hi." Meroko fidgeted, suddenly feeling awkward in her light blue dress. "Um. You look…nice." Her voice was a little squeaky._

"_Thanks." He looked her over. "You too."_

"_Th-thanks."_

"_So…shall we go, then?"_

"_Um…sure. Hang on a sec."_

_Meroko went back in and grabbed her purse, checking to make sure her key was in there. Then she walked back to the door._

"_I'm ready."_

_She walked outside and joined him in the hallway, shutting the door behind her._

* * *

The coffee was ready. 

Meroko got out a mug and poured some hot coffee into it, smiling. She had been so nervous…

_Why am I even thinking about all this stuff?_ She shook her head. _Come on. All of that's in the past._

Meroko stared cheerlessly at her coffee cup. She had always hated the thought of things being in the past. Because when things were in the past, there was no going back to fix them.

_I guess there just wasn't any fixing that relationship,_ she thought. She took a sip of her coffee. _When did it fall apart, though? I always thought it was the night we…But…maybe it was when he told me…that he loved me…for the first time…__

* * *

_

_Meroko looked back and forth from her place on the park bench, searching in the darkness for Izumi._

"_I wonder why he wanted to meet at the park?" she said to herself. "And didn't he say he was busy tonight?"_

_She heard footsteps approaching, and stood up, looking in the direction they were coming from. Her face lit up as she saw Izumi._

"_Izumi! Over here!" She waved to him._

_Izumi walked up to her, smiling. "Hi, Meroko."_

_Meroko let her hand drop, looking closely at him. "Um…everything okay?"_

_Izumi seemed a little strained. And…nervous. That was strange for Izumi. He was hardly ever nervous._

"_Do you want to sit down?" he asked._

_Meroko nodded uncertainly. "Sure."_

_They both went over to the park bench and sat down. Meroko looked at Izumi. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You seem a little…"_

_She trailed off as Izumi turned to look at her._

"_I have something to tell you," he said quietly._

"_Okay," Meroko said. _

_There was a long pause._

"_Um…what is it?" Meroko prompted._

_Izumi was silent for a long moment. Then…_

"_I love you."_

_Meroko's eyes widened in shock._

"_I love you, Meroko."_

"…_Izumi?" Meroko said._

"_Every day and every night, I think about you." Izumi's voice was serious, but also passionate. "I love everything about you. Your laugh, your smile, your heart. Everything."_

_Meroko felt tears pricking at her eyes. "Izumi…" She felt overwhelmed with emotion._

_Izumi leaned forward, until his face was inches away from Meroko's. His hand reached up and brushed a strand of hair away from Meroko's face._

"_I love you more than anything," he whispered._

_Then he leaned forward and kissed her softly. His hands moved up to cup her face, and she wrapped her arms around him._

_After what seemed like an eternity, they broke apart. A single tear fell down Meroko's cheek._

"_I love you, too," she said, her voice sounding choked. Without another word, Izumi drew her into an embrace, holding her close while she cried tears of joy over his shoulder._

* * *

Meroko absently sipped her coffee, thinking of that night. At the time, she had considered it the best night of her life. After Izumi's confession, everything in her life had seemed brighter, more vibrant. 

_I was happy,_ Meroko thought with a smile. _I was so happy…_

Then, suddenly, the smile disappeared from her face, as the memory of another night drifted to the forefront of her mind…

_

* * *

_

_There was a loud knock on the door. Meroko jumped up, her face alight with hope. "Could that be…?"_

"_Oh my God, Izumi!" she yelled, hugging him tightly. "I missed you so much!"  
_

_Izumi smiled, patting Meroko's hair with one hand while his other arm snaked around her waist. "You're exaggerating. As usual."_

_Meroko shook her head firmly. "No way," she said into his chest. "I missed you…" She sniffed._

"_It's okay." Izumi leaned down, his mouth by her ear. "I'm back," he whispered._

_

* * *

_Meroko gripped her coffee cup tightly, closing her eyes. _That was the night we…_

_The night everything changed…_

_

* * *

_

_Once they finished one conversation, Izumi placed his hand on top of Meroko's, locking eyes with her. "I love you," he said._

_Meroko's eyes widened. He looked so serious._

"_Izumi?" she said hesitantly._

_Izumi answered by leaning forward and crushing his lips against hers. Meroko immediately closed her eyes, her hands flying up to enclose his face. After a few seconds, Izumi's hands landed on Meroko's waist. He pressed closer to her body, pulling her deeper into the kiss._

_Meroko gave a little yelp when she felt him tugging at her skirt, and she jerked backward. "Izumi!" she cried, startled. "What—what—"_

_Izumi kissed her again, long and deep. Meroko almost pulled away, but her brain felt slightly fogged from the sheer amount of intensity in that kiss, and she didn't move._

_This time, Izumi was the one to break off the kiss. He looked away guiltily. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"_

_He stopped. Meroko looked at him with concern. "Izumi?"_

_Izumi remained silent for a moment, then looked up at Meroko. "I love you, Meroko," he said._

_Meroko gave a little gasp. Again, he looked serious. Well, he always looked serious, but not _this_ serious._

"_Izumi?" she said again._

"_I love you so much, Meroko," Izumi said, his voice filled with intense passion. "I can't live without you. I don't know what I'd do without you."_

_Meroko moved back slightly, startled. He had never said anything like this before._

"_When I was on that trip, I realized just how much I loved you. And how much I missed you. I thought about you day and night, all the time."_

_He moved toward Meroko, who was frozen with shock._

"_I love you, Meroko. In every way." His golden eyes looked her up and down. "And now…"_

_He didn't finish that statement, but Meroko knew exactly what he meant._

_Tears welled up in her eyes. "Izumi…"_

_They stared at each other for a long moment, then slowly moved forward and kissed again. They pushed hard at each other, their lips pressing together roughly, their hands running through each other's hair._

_After a while, Izumi's hands slowly lowered, and he pulled at Meroko's skirt again. This time, Meroko didn't protest. Izumi pulled her skirt off and discarded it to the floor, leaving her in her shirt and a pair of lacy white underwear._

_Still locked in the kiss, Meroko lifted her hands up and removed his vest, throwing it aside. She felt him smile against her lips as she started fumbling with the buttons of his shirt. Getting them undone was hard with her eyes closed and her mouth locked against Izumi's, but she managed it, tossing the shirt to the floor. Her hands moved down and began working the waistband of his pants, pulling them off and throwing them on top of the shirt._

_They broke apart for air at that point, and Meroko pulled her shirt over her head and threw it onto the floor without even thinking. Izumi pushed her back, and she fell against the bed, with him on top of her._

_She stared at Izumi and drew in a sharp little breath. She had never seen him anything but fully clothed. Now here he was in just his underwear. And so was she, she quickly realized._

_She noticed him staring at her, his eyes drinking in every part of her body, and looked away, blushing hard. She had never done this before. She had never even imagined doing this before. People always did say that the first time was awkward._

_Izumi noticed her. "Meroko? What's wrong?"_

"_Oh…um…" Meroko's face went even redder. "It's just…it's just a little…I mean, I haven't…I've never really…"_

"_It's okay. Neither have I."_

"…_Ah." That made her feel like less of an idiot, at least._

_Izumi looked at her worriedly. "Are you sure you want to do this? I understand if you're not comfortable with it."_

_Meroko bit her lip, thinking hard. She was a little uncertain, yes. She had never done this before. And there were risks, of course._

_But she couldn't stop thinking about what he had said. And she knew that she felt the same way. There was no denying it._

_But more than anything, she wanted this, she knew. She loved him more than anything. She wanted him inside of her._

"_I love you, too," she said to Izumi. "There isn't anyone that I love more."_

_The tender look that he gave her then told her that he understood._

* * *

It had been Meroko's first time—and his, she learned later. She had never known that it was possible to love someone that much. 

But, evidently, he hadn't felt the same way.

She had woken up alone, and afterwards, when she tried to call him, he didn't answer. She went to his house several times, but no one came to the door. She even saw him on the street once and called out his name, but he ignored her.

Then, finally, he asked her to meet him at the park one day.

And that was when everything came crashing down.

* * *

"_Izumi! There you are!"_

_Meroko waved cheerfully. "Hey!" she called out, running over to him. "I haven't seen you in a while. Has everything been okay? I've tried calling, but…"_

_Her voice trailed off as she looked closely at Izumi and noticed that something was different. Izumi was staring directly at the ground, his blonde hair obscuring his face. He wasn't speaking at all._

"_Um…Izumi?" Meroko asked, frowning with confusion. "What's wrong?"_

_Izumi didn't answer for a long while. Then he finally spoke, in a low, emotionless voice._

"_Meroko…I think it's time we stopped seeing each other."_

_Meroko's eyes widened, and a gasp tore from her throat. "Wh…what…" she stammered. "What do you mean?"_

_Izumi looked up a little, but not enough for Meroko to see his eyes. "I think we should break up," he clarified, his voice still empty of emotion._

"…_Huh?" Meroko felt the faint beginnings of tears in her eyes. "Izumi…I don't understand…Why do you want to…I mean…we've been going out for two years, and you…you just want to forget that?"_

"_Yes," he said flatly. It caught her off guard. She took a step back, her face covered with shock._

"_But…why?" She shook her head wildly. "I don't understand. Why do you want to break up?"_

_Izumi didn't answer. Meroko looked away, her lower lip quivering._

"_Is it…is it because of the other night?" she asked in a soft, hesitant voice. She looked back at Izumi. "Is that why you want to break up? Because we…"_

_She didn't finish her sentence._

_Izumi shook his head. "No," he said. "I just think we shouldn't be together anymore."_

"_But…" Meroko couldn't understand. Where had this come from? Had he secretly hated her all along?_

_All the things he had said…_

"I love you, Meroko. I couldn't stop if I tried."

_Had he been lying?_

"_Were you lying this whole time?" Meroko managed to choke out. "Was this…was this all just some big game, Izumi?"_

_A crack of thunder sounded above, and a fork of lightning flashed across the sky, which was streaked with thick gray clouds._

_Izumi was silent for a long time. Meroko just stood there staring at him, her face twisted with a million emotions at once._

_Finally, Izumi turned around. "I have to go," he said. "Don't bother trying to contact me. Ever again."_

_A sob tore from Meroko's throat. "Izumi…" Her voice had turned pleading. "Izumi…wait…"_

_He turned his head back slightly. "Well, I guess this is it."_

"…_No…please…"_

_Izumi turned fully away and took a step forward. "Goodbye, Meroko."_

"_Wait! Izumi, please! Please don't leave! I'm begging you!"_

"_Goodbye, Meroko."_

"_Izumi! You can't leave! I…I can't live if you're not here!"  
_

"_Goodbye."_

_Thick, pearly tears welled up in Meroko's eyes as she watched Izumi walking away. Her hand reached out slightly, and she tried to call after him, to say something, anything, to get him to stay. But her throat felt clenched and constricted, and she couldn't talk._

_Instead, she fell to her knees, just as the first raindrops began to fall from the sky, and the tears began streaming from her face, just as the rain began to pick up speed, falling without end._

_She brought her hands up to her face, and let herself break down in sobs, fully and freely._

_She wished that Izumi would turn around and come back and hold her in his arms and dry her tears, just as he had done so many times before. But her cracked and broken heart knew that it wouldn't be happening._

_Never again._

* * *

A single tear slid down Meroko's cheek, and she hurriedly wiped it away. 

_What's the matter with me?_ Meroko took a deep, shuddering breath. _I thought I was over him…Why am I thinking about all this stuff?_

Without thinking, she reached over for the phone and dialed the first number that came to her mind.

"Hello?" a voice came.

"Hey, Takuto," Meroko said, her voice trembling very slightly. "It's Meroko." She looked from the roses on the table to the coffee cup in her hand. "Do you want to come over?"

**

* * *

**

**This chapter was initially going to be Meroko telling Takuto all of the flashback stuff, but then I realized that didn't make sense. And Mitsuki would have known about it already, being Meroko's best friend. So I just made this a regular old flashback chapter, where the only one to learn anything is Meroko's coffee cup.**

**I still need opinions on the trilogy idea, so please tell me whether or not you like it.**

**RRE.**


	8. Lovesick

**Hey there. Now it's time for the lovely main-character-gets-sick-and-gets-taken-care-of-by-guy-who-loves-her chapter!**

**Which guy, you ask? Read and find out…**

* * *

When Takuto arrived with a smile on his face, Meroko felt as though she hadn't seen him in years, even though it really hadn't been that long. They talked and laughed cheerfully as though the past couple of weeks had never happened.

Finally, Takuto said, "Well, Meroko, it's been really great, but I have to get going."

Meroko's face fell slightly. "Oh. Okay."

Takuto stood up. "Hey, Meroko. Before I forget, there was something I wanted to ask you."

"Yeah?"

"Well, the final recording of my new single is tomorrow. I talked to my manager, and they said it was okay if you wanted to come and listen."

Meroko's face lit up with excitement. "Really?"

"Yeah." Takuto grinned. "How about it?"

"Sure!" Meroko nodded vigorously. "I'd love to!"

"Alright. I'll come and pick you up at eight thirty tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Okay."

Takuto opened the door. "Then I'll see you." He leaned in and gave Meroko a swift kiss on the cheek, then left.

Just before going to bed, Meroko picked up the phone and called her boss, telling him that she had to take the day off tomorrow. He wasn't overly pleased with the short notice, but he was nice enough to let it slide.

Once she got off the phone with him, she yawned loudly and looked at the clock. It wasn't that late, but she felt tired.

"Man, I need some sleep," she murmured, crawling under the covers. She hadn't gotten much sleep at all lately.

She reached up and rubbed her eyes, which suddenly felt dry.

"Good night," she mumbled to no one in particular, drifting off.

* * *

The next morning, Meroko woke up to the sound of her alarm ringing loudly. With a low groan, she rolled over and checked it.

"God, it's quarter till eight," she mumbled. How in the world had she managed to sleep through her alarm for forty-five minutes?

Her hand reached out and fumbled for the off button. After a few tries, she flicked the button, and a relieved sigh came from her mouth as the ringing stopped.

As Meroko pulled herself out of bed, she felt a strange rolling sensation under her eyes. Her head was aching. She felt like she was ready to collapse.

"I'm tired," she muttered, heading for the kitchen.

She had the refrigerator door open and was reaching for a package of bacon, but decided against it. She shut the door.

_I'll just go back to sleep for a few minutes,_ she thought. That was good. Sleep was good.

She crawled under the blankets and pulled them up to her chin, shivering violently. It was cold. Very cold.

She curled up into a little ball, pulling the blankets tighter around her. The more she bundled up, the colder she felt. What was going on?

"It's so cold," Meroko murmured, almost without realizing she said it. Her cheeks felt hot and flushed. Her teeth were chattering. She was shaking all over. She tried to force herself to stay still, but her body wasn't listening to her brain any more.

She reached up a hand to touch her cheek, confused. Why was her cheek hot? How could it be hot? She felt so cold.

Meroko slowly drifted into a state somewhere between asleep and awake. She was faintly aware of her surroundings, and at the same time it felt like they weren't there. All she could really focus on was the sound of her teeth clacking together.

She stayed in bed for a while, and then she remembered about Takuto. Moaning softly, she reached out from under the blanket and grabbed her cell phone, which was sitting on the bedside table. Still curled under the blankets, she turned it on and dialed Takuto's number.

After a couple of rings, he picked up. "Meroko, is that you?"

"Yeah," Meroko whispered.

"Meroko, are you okay? You sound a little funny."

"I think…" Meroko broke to get her breath. "I think I'm sick."

"What?" Takuto sounded worried. "Are you okay?"

"Y…yeah. But I don't think…I don't think I can make it to the recording."

"I'm coming over," Takuto announced immediately. "I'll take the day off. I'm not letting you spend the day by yourself when you're sick."

"No…no."

"What?"

"You can't," Meroko explained. "This is…the final recording. You'll get in trouble."

"I don't care!" Takuto was almost shouting, and it was hurting Meroko's ears. "You're a hell of a lot more important than some recording!"

"No…I'm okay," Meroko replied. "You've…got work."

"But…" Takuto didn't sound convinced.

It was taking all Meroko had to keep talking. "It's okay, Takuto. I'll take some medicine or something…and get some rest. Okay? Don't…don't worry about me."

Takuto was silent for a moment. "I really don't want to leave you alone like that," he said.

"I'll call Mitsuki. She's…she's off work today."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"You're positive she's off work?"

"Yes."

"I—" Takuto was cut off as someone yelled in the background. Meroko could hear him cover the phone and yell something back.

"I have to go," he said to Meroko. His voice was ridden with guilt. "I'm really sorry. Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Yeah. Don't…don't worry."

"I'll come over as soon as I'm done with work, okay?"

"Okay."

"Please get some rest, Meroko. Take some medicine and go right back to bed. All right?"

Meroko nodded, and then remembered that she was talking on the phone. "Yeah. Okay," she murmured.

"I love you. Take care of yourself."

"I love you, too," Meroko whispered. "Bye." She let her hand drop, and the phone slipped from her grasp. Her eyelids slid shut.

Mitsuki wasn't off work today. In fact, she worked late today. But Meroko knew that if she hadn't said that, Takuto would have blown off work to take care of her, and then he would have gotten in trouble. And she didn't want that.

_I'll get out of bed and get some medicine,_ she told herself. _Then I'll get some rest._

Meroko imagined herself doing this, without actually doing it. She imagined herself getting a cup of water, and drinking the water to cool her scratchy throat. She imagined herself getting another blanket. She kept imagining these things, over and over, while all the while she never moved from her bed. She tortured her mind, trying to figure out what she was really doing.

After what seemed like forever, she was startled out of her tormented thoughts by a gentle hand shaking her and the sound of a voice from far away.

"Meroko?"

Meroko made an unintelligible noise in her throat and cracked her eyes open. Someone was kneeling next to her bed, looking directly at her. Her vision was too blurry to see who it was.

_Takuto?_ She tried to talk, but her mouth wouldn't move.

She tried to focus her eyes. _Who's there?_

"It's me," Takuto said. He felt Meroko's forehead. "You're burning up." He reached for something on the side table.

Meroko forced herself to speak. "Takuto…?" Her voice was hoarse. "Why…"

She stopped talking as his finger landed on her lips. "Don't talk," he whispered. With his free hand, he reached for something on her bedside table. "I've got a thermometer. I need to check your temperature."

Confused, Meroko tried to focus on Takuto. "What…" she croaked. "Why are you…you're supposed to be working…"

Takuto lifted the thermometer. "Just open your mouth, okay?"

Meroko slowly opened her mouth, too tired to argue. Takuto slid the thermometer in and waited for the mercury to settle. Once it had, he took out the thermometer and read it. His eyes widened slightly. "104.5. God."

"I'm okay. I've been there before," Meroko said faintly, trying to reassure Takuto. It didn't seem to work.

He reached for a little bottle that he had set on the bedside table. As he fiddled with the lid, Meroko squinted at the label. Fever reducer.

Takuto dumped two pills into his hand. "Okay. Open up."

Meroko made a face and tried to pull back a little. She had taken fever reducer a couple of times before, and she hadn't liked it.

"Come on, Meroko." Takuto locked eyes with her, pleading silently. "It's only fever reducer. It will help. Please. I don't want you to be sick."

Meroko's eyes widened slightly.

"Please," he said again.

_Takuto…_

After a long pause, Meroko sat up and faced Takuto, her mouth open.

Takuto's face showed relief. "Thank you. Hang on." He placed the two pills into her mouth. Meroko scrunched up her face and swallowed hard. The second they had gone down, she began coughing, her face twisted in a grimace at the bitter taste.

"You okay?" Takuto asked.

"Yeah."

"I'll go get you some water, okay?"

Meroko nodded gratefully. Takuto stood up and walked to the kitchen, coming back with a large bottle of water and a glass. He poured her some water and lifted the glass. "Ready?" he asked.

Meroko nodded again and snatched the glass from Takuto, drinking it and another glass and another.

When she finally set the glass down on the table, Takuto gave her a slight smile. "You were thirsty," he said.

Meroko nodded. "Thanks." She looked carefully at Takuto. "Why…why are you here?" Even after the water, her voice was a little hoarse. "You're supposed to be working…I told you not to skip work…"

Takuto didn't answer. "Is there anything else you need?"

Meroko shook her head. "Takuto," she said softly.

"Do you want to get some sleep?" Takuto asked. "I'll stay here. I'll get you whatever you need."

Meroko wanted to keep questioning Takuto, but she was just too tired. With a long sigh, she fell back onto the bed and pulled the blankets up. She felt herself start shivering again.

Takuto looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry," he said. "I would put another blanket on you, but I don't want you to get overheated."

Meroko nodded slightly. "Takuto…"

"Yeah?"

"Why…why are you doing this?" She looked up at him with tired but curious eyes. "Why'd you skip work? This is…a really important day…the final recording…Won't your manager…be mad…?"

She was surprised when his cool hand pressed against her cheek, stroking it lightly.

"I am worried about you," Takuto said softly.

Meroko blinked, trying to make sense of that. _Takuto…_

Her eyes started to slide shut. "Takuto…" she whispered, her voice small and quiet.

"It's okay, Meroko," Takuto said gently. "I'm here."

Meroko was half-asleep by this point, with her eyes completely shut, but she heard him, and felt surprised.

_Takuto…_

Just before Meroko drifted off, she felt a pair of soft lips on her forehead.

* * *

When Meroko woke up, her eyes felt dry and irritated, but she felt as though her temperature had gone down. Takuto was still sitting next to her bed, his eyes fixed intently on her.

"Hey there, sleepy," he said with a smile. "Feeling any better?"

"A little," Meroko answered. She stretched out a leg under the blanket. "What time is it?"

"Almost three."

Meroko frowned. "You shouldn't have come here, Takuto. You should have stayed at work and done your recording."

Takuto shook his head. "No way," he said firmly.

"Takuto—"

"No way," Takuto repeated. "I'm never going to pick some recording over you. You're a thousand—no, a million times more important than any job."

Meroko gave a little gasp.

"I told you, Meroko." Takuto locked eyes with Meroko, his gaze filled with intense passion. "I love you."

Meroko's eyes were wide, and she stared at Takuto with silent shock, not knowing what to say.

After a long moment, Takuto cleared his throat and turned away, his face going pink. "So, um, do you want something to eat? You haven't had anything all day, have you?"

Meroko's stomach grumbled, and she said, "I'd love some food. I haven't eaten yet. I'll just…"

She started to push herself upright, but Takuto held out an arm and blocked her. "No way, miss," he said reproachfully. "You're still sick. I'll go make you something. Wait here." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, stood up, and left her room, heading for the kitchen.

Meroko slumped back down in bed, her mind whirling despite the light haze of fever that was still blanketing her.

_Takuto…This was so nice of you. You really do love me, don't you?_

_But you're not the only one…Izumi said the same thing…_

_They both love me…How do I know which one _I _love? Who do I pick? I always thought that I had gotten over Izumi…Haven't I gotten over him?_

Groaning, Meroko turned over and buried her face in the pillow.

"Why me?" she grumbled.

**

* * *

**

**In the next chapter, something will happen that will make the plot really start to pick up. What is it? I'm not telling. You have to wait until I update. Ha.**

**I still need opinions on the trilogy idea, so if you haven't given your opinion yet, hit that Review button and get typing!**

**RRE.**


	9. Come Back

**Chapter Nine, whoo. This chapter turned out being a lot different than I thought it would be. Chapter Eight was originally completely different, so when I changed it, I had to change the parts of Chapter Nine that I had already written. And then, of course, I had to finish Chapter Nine. But, after all that, here is the ninth chapter, in all its romantic glory.**

* * *

The next morning, Meroko woke up feeling refreshed and restored. She jumped out of bed and stretched, smiling brightly. 

"Ah…" she sighed. "I feel so much better…"

She walked into the living room and looked over at Takuto, who was fast asleep on the couch.

"Hey, Takuto." Meroko shook her boyfriend gently. "Rise and shine. I'm better now. You can go and plead with your boss not to fire you without having to worry about my temperature."

Takuto opened his eyes with a groan. "Oh…hey, Meroko…It's early…"

Meroko laughed. "Sorry about that. But I feel much better now."

"Oh?" Takuto sat up, immediately looking more alert. "You're not sick anymore?"

"Nope!" Meroko beamed at Takuto. "Thank you so much for taking care of me. Of course, you've probably lost your job over it, but I appreciate the thought."

Takuto smiled. "Any time." He got off the couch. "Well, I suppose I'd better go grovel to my manager. I hope he's not too mad."

"If he yells at you, I'll tell him it was my fault."

"Thanks." Takuto picked up his cell phone from the coffee table. "You're sure you're feeling better?"

"Yeah." Meroko touched Takuto's arm gently. "I'm fine now. Don't worry about me."

Takuto's hand reached up and closed around Meroko's upper arm. "I can't help it," he whispered. "If something happened to you…I don't know what I'd do."

Meroko gasped at that. _That sounds like…_

Before she could pursue that thought, Takuto leaned in and pressed his lips gently against hers, his arms wrapping around her and drawing her close. After a brief moment of hesitation, Meroko kissed him back, her lips working passionately against his, a fire burning in the pit of her belly.

When at last they had to break away for air, Meroko was breathing heavily as she said, "I guess I'll see you later, then." She stopped, noticing something. "Hey, you alright? You look a little red."

Takuto moaned. "I think I might have gotten whatever it was you had."

"Oh, no!" Meroko looked distressed. "No! I'm so sorry, Takuto."

"It's alright." Takuto gave a bracing smile. "I just hope I didn't give it right back to you with that kiss. We probably ought to stay out of each other's way for a few days, just to make sure we don't both end up in the hospital."

Meroko frowned deeply. She didn't like that idea.

"We can still talk on the phone," Takuto added quickly.

Meroko smiled again. "Okay." She walked with Takuto to the door and held it open for him. "I'll call you tonight, okay?"

"Okay." Takuto stepped into the hallway. "Bye, Meroko. Love you."

"Goodbye, Takuto."

* * *

After a full day of work, Meroko sat on her couch, staring at the floor without really seeing it. Preoccupied thoughts spun through her head. 

"_I'll do _anything_ to make you mine."_

"_You don't have to answer me right away. I understand. I'll still love you anyway."_

"_I still haven't given up."_

"_If something happened to you…I don't know what I'd do."_

"_I love you."_

"_Bye, Meroko. Love you."_

Meroko sighed. _Takuto…Izumi…They both love me…and I still don't have a clue how to choose…_

At that moment, a knock came on the door. Meroko stood up. "Coming," she called. She walked to the door and opened it.

A dark-haired young man that Meroko didn't recognize stood in front of the door, holding a bouquet of six red roses in his arms. "You're Meroko Yui?" he asked.

Meroko nodded slowly, her eyes fixed on the roses. "Yeah. And you are…?"

"I was told not to reveal my name."

Meroko raised an eyebrow. "O…kay. So…why are you here?"

The man held out the roses. "I was told to deliver these."

Meroko blinked with surprise. "…Huh?" Then something struck her. "Wait…you were told? As in, they're from someone else?"

The man nodded. "They're from someone named Izumi Lio."

A little gasp fell from Meroko's mouth. "I-Izumi?"

"Yes."

Dumbfounded, Meroko took the roses and held them in her arms. "Why…why? Did he give you a reason?"

"No. He just said to deliver them to Meroko Yui at this address. And I've done that." The man bowed slightly. "Goodbye, then." He turned and walked down the hall. Meroko stared after him, feeling numb.

_More roses from Izumi…Why is he sending these?_

She thought of that first bouquet, the one that he'd given her as an apology. The note enclosed.

He'd been right. Roses were her favorite flower. She'd told him that once, back when they were going out.

Meroko walked inside and tossed the roses on the table, shaking her head. _I can't keep doing this. I have to go talk to him. Tell him to…back off, or give me some time, or something. I don't know. But…I have to talk to him._

* * *

By digging up a phonebook and searching through it, Meroko managed to find Izumi's home address. Shaking slightly, Meroko walked out to her car and drove to the address. It turned out to be a one-story house five streets down from Meroko's. 

After pulling up next in the driveway and getting out of the car, Meroko stood there, staring up at the house with something close to fear pulsing through her veins. She hadn't visited Izumi at his house in so long. She felt so nervous.

_But I have to,_ she told herself. _And he probably heard me drive up anyway…He knows I'm here._

Taking a deep breath, she walked up to the door. Trembling, she slowly lifted her hand and knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, the door opened, and there was Izumi. For the first time in Meroko's memory, the surprise was open and clear on his face.

"Um…hi," he said, his voice almost hesitant. He looked Meroko up and down, as if he didn't believe she was really there.

"Hey," Meroko said, her voice quiet. She glanced at him, then away.

"Did you…need something?" Izumi asked.

"Y-yeah." Meroko swallowed. "Do you think…can I talk to you for a minute?"

Izumi remained still for a moment. Then he moved aside to let Meroko in. "Of course, Meroko."

* * *

As Izumi led Meroko into the living room, Meroko couldn't help but look around a little. The house seemed entirely normal, which struck Meroko as odd for some reason. 

"Do you want anything to drink?" Izumi asked.

"No," Meroko said.

"You can sit down, then."

Meroko nodded and sat down on the couch. She folded her hands in her lap, staring at the floor.

Izumi sat down next to her. "Alright. You wanted to talk?"

"Yes." Meroko swallowed hard, looking away. "I, um…I got the roses."

"Did you?" Izumi could obviously tell that Meroko was stalling.

"Yes. I really…um, thank you."

"You're welcome."

There was a long silence, which was eventually broken when Izumi said, "So…what did you want to talk about?"

Meroko blushed slightly. "Well…"

"Are you alright?" Izumi sounded confused. "You're acting nervous."

"I am nervous," Meroko admitted quietly.

"About…?"

Meroko sighed. "Listen, Izumi. I…I like the roses, and I really appreciate the thought. But…" She paused for a moment. "I'd…like you to stop sending them."

Izumi didn't say anything. Meroko looked at him. His expression was unfathomable.

"Look, I do appreciate it," Meroko continued, her voice pleading. "But you know I'm dating Takuto right now, and…" She broke off, her brow furrowing. "I mean, this whole thing is very…" She tugged on the ends of her hair, giving a frustrated sigh. "Oh, I don't know. I just need some time alone to think about things."

"That's not going to happen."

Meroko gave Izumi a startled look. "What?"

"I'm serious."

Meroko tilted her head. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm never going to give up, Meroko." Izumi's eyes were burning intensely. "If you leave, I'll follow you. I'll keep on fighting for your heart. I'll fight forever if I have to."

Meroko's eyes were wide and shocked. After a few seconds, she looked away, sighing. "You really mean that, don't you?"

Izumi nodded. "Yes. I do."

They were both silent for a minute. Then Meroko pulled back a little, looking tortured. "Please, Izumi," she said quietly. "Just give me some time to figure things out. A couple of days would be nice. I can even live with one day! Just…please."

Izumi was silent for a while. When he finally spoke, he sounded resigned. "I suppose…I can afford a couple of days."

Meroko sighed, relieved. "Thanks."

She started to stand up, but Izumi's hand locked onto her shoulder, stopping her.

"Of course, you weren't specific as to _when_ those days had to be."

Meroko slowly looked at Izumi, feeling a sense of growing horror. "What…?"

Izumi suddenly grabbed her face in his hands, staring at her intently. "Remember what I said, Meroko. I'm never going to give up. I'm never going to let go of you again. _Never_."

Meroko saw the resolve form in his eyes. "N—" she started to protest.

Too late.

Izumi's lips abruptly crushed hers, his hands locking around her face. Meroko whimpered and struggled, trying to push Izumi away, but Izumi held on, pushing her back until her head hit the couch.

Meroko yelped behind Izumi's lips, going stiff with fear. _No…He couldn't be…!_

Slowly, Izumi pulled back, his eyes locked on Meroko's. He was holding himself carefully above her, his hands still circling her face.

"No," Meroko whispered. "Don't." Her voice was quiet and pleading.

One of Izumi's hands moved down to hold Meroko's neck. Meroko shuddered violently.

"It would be so easy," Izumi said, his voice soft.

Tears welled up in Meroko's eyes, and she shook her head. "I can't," she croaked. "I can't, Izumi."

"It would be so easy," Izumi breathed. His hand moved down slowly, stroking Meroko's arm, her side, her waist. His fingers caught on the bottom of her shirt.

"Stop," Meroko pleaded, catching his hand with hers. "Please don't do this. Let me go."

"I love you."

"I'm…I'm sorry," Meroko said, her voice strangled. "I don't…I'm sorry…"

"I love you." Izumi's eyes softened. "More than you could ever know. More than anything. I love you…"

His hands gripped her neck and pulled her face up a little. Meroko struggled, but to no avail. Her eyes squeezed shut, and a single tear slid down her cheek.

"No…" she whispered, as Izumi leaned toward her.

When their lips were an inch apart, he suddenly stopped. His breath still fanned out over Meroko's face, but he didn't try to move her any closer. He just sat there.

Meroko opened her eyes, staring at Izumi in shock. "Izumi…?"

Izumi's breathing got heavier. "Meroko…" He started to shake.

Meroko's eyes widened slightly. "Izumi? What…?"

After a second of hesitation, Izumi slowly pulled his hands away and got off the couch, leaving Meroko to sink back, surprise etched on her face.

"Damn it," Izumi said softly. "I never do it right, do I?"

Meroko sat up. "Izumi…"

Izumi's head turned slightly. "Meroko…I…"

Meroko stood up. "Izumi."

"I'm sorry, Meroko." Izumi's voice sounded like it was close to breaking. "I'm so, so sorry."

Something glimmered on Izumi's cheek for a split second, and then he turned away, hiding his face.

"Izumi?" Meroko took a step toward Izumi, unconsciously reaching out her hand. "Are you…crying?"

At that moment, the cell phone in Meroko's pocket began vibrating and ringing.

Meroko jumped, looking down at her pocket. "Oh…" She took the phone out and opened it, staring at the number displayed.

_Takuto…_

Takuto's voice came through the phone. "Hello? Meroko?"

Meroko's hand shook slightly, and she stared at the phone as though frightened of it.

"Hello? Meroko, it's me, Takuto. Are you there?"

Izumi turned around to stare at Meroko, looking confused. Meroko's eyes remained fixed on the phone.

"Meroko?"

Almost before she realized what she was doing, Meroko shut the phone and shoved it back into her pocket. It took her a couple of seconds for the knowledge of what she'd done to sink in.

"Oh," she whispered. "Oh, God."

And then she was crying.

"Meroko?" If Izumi had been confused before, he now looked completely baffled. "What's the matter?"

Meroko shook her head, pawing at the tears with the back of her hand. "I…I d-don't know…" she hiccupped. "What's wrong with me…? I don't understand…"

Izumi hesitantly touched her shoulder, then pulled back. "What…?"

"I can't take this anymore," Meroko croaked, burying her face in her hands. "You and Takuto…I can't…leave either one of you…How am I…supposed to choose? I can't…I can't…!"

Izumi gently curled his hand around Meroko's upper arm. "Meroko," he said softly.

"Just leave me alone!" Meroko screamed, wrenching herself away. Still sobbing, she ran around Izumi and out the door, bolting for her car.

"Meroko!" Izumi called frantically behind her. "Meroko!"

Meroko's sobs thickened when she heard her name, but she kept running.

**

* * *

**

**Izumi and Meroko are both suffering a lot. Of course, Takuto has his own pain to deal with, but Izumi and Meroko both have my sympathies right now. **

**Still needing opinions on the trilogy idea! If you haven't given your thoughts yet, please do so. Whether or not this becomes a trilogy will depend almost entirely on reader response.**

**RRE.**


	10. Beautiful Release

**Man, this took me a while, didn't it? Sorry about that. I had massive writer's block.**

**Anyway, warning! This chapter has a little sexual content. Nothing huge, nothing explicit. It's just there. So, yeah, you've been warned.**

* * *

Meroko had driven about a block before she realized that driving in her state was impossible. She pulled over, slumped her head against the steering wheel, and broke down sobbing. She didn't think or talk; she simply cried, while the faces of Takuto and Izumi swirled in her head and her whole body shook.

It was a long time before she calmed down enough to lift her head and wipe her eyes, taking deep breaths.

"I'm okay…" she gasped, shuddering. "I'm okay…I'm okay…"

After a couple more minutes, Meroko still felt fragile, but strong enough to drive herself home without crashing. Maybe.

She managed to get another block before being assaulted by another round of tears.

"Damn it," she muttered, undoing her seatbelt and rubbing furiously at her cheeks. She could tell that this wasn't going to work unless she wanted to spend the next three hours alternating between driving and crying.

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed Mitsuki's number, but ended up getting the answering machine. She hung up, feeling slightly panicked. Why couldn't she reach Mitsuki? It made her feel horribly alone.

With shaking fingers, Meroko dialed Takuto's number and held the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?" Takuto answered after a couple rings.

"Takuto," Meroko breathed, feeling relieved. "Can you come and pick me up?"

"Of course," Takuto said instantly. "What's going on? You sound horrible."

"I'll explain later. You're not busy, are you?"

"Not with anything important. Where are you?"

Meroko gave Takuto the name of the street, adding, "I'm parked on the side of the road. You should be able to recognize my car."

"Give me five minutes."

The line went dead.

* * *

Five minutes later, Takuto's car pulled up behind Meroko, and Takuto jumped out of the driver's seat, running up to Meroko's car and looking frantically through her window. His eyes popped when he saw Meroko.

_I must look worse than I thought,_ Meroko realized, and made a mental grimace when she thought of how much crying she'd done.

"Open up!" Takuto yelled, his voice muffled by the glass.

Meroko sighed and opened the car door. "Hi, Takuto."

"Meroko! What's the matter? How long have you been here crying?"

"I—"

"And don't try to tell me you haven't been crying; your eyes are completely red and I can see the tearstains!"

_Oh._

"Can we talk about this later?" Meroko begged. "Right now I just want to go home."

Takuto's face softened. "All right." He looked from his car and back to Meroko's. "Here's what we'll do. I'll drive you home in this, and later on I'll come back and get my car. Move over."

Meroko climbed into the passenger seat, watching Takuto as he got into the driver's seat and shut the door.

"So what was I interrupting?" she asked.

Takuto blushed a little. "I told you, nothing. Get your seatbelt on."

"You were working, weren't you?"

"Seatbelt, Meroko."

"I'm sorry that I keep pulling you out of work. I must be the worst girlfriend ever."

Takuto sighed. "You're not the worst girlfriend ever. You're quite possibly the best. But I would feel a lot better about you if you weren't in danger of flying out the windshield."

Meroko shook her head and put her seatbelt on. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a one-track mind?"

"I just don't want you getting hurt."

Meroko let out a sigh. "Thanks."

* * *

Upon arriving at home, Meroko threw her purse on the couch and went straight to her bathroom to wash her face. She grimaced at her reflection. _Man, I look horrible,_ she thought, turning the water on.

When she got back, Takuto was sitting on the couch. "Feeling any better?" he asked.

"A little, I guess. Thanks for driving me home."

"No problem." Takuto patted the seat beside him. "Anything you want to talk about?"

"I don't know." Meroko sat down next to him. "It's…complicated."

Takuto slipped his hand into hers, pulling her closer. "You can trust me."

"I wish that were the issue."

Takuto was about to reply, but then his eyes found the bouquet of roses still sitting on the table. "Where'd you get those from?"

"Izumi sent them to me."

There was an awkward moment of silence while Takuto processed that. "Oh," he finally said.

"I did go to talk to him about that."

"And?"

"I couldn't drive very well when I left, if that tells you anything."

"Did he do something to you?" Takuto demanded, moving closer. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, he didn't hurt me…not physically, anyway."

"What happened?"

Meroko shook her head. "I told you, Takuto…it's complicated."

"I'm listening."

There was a long silence.

Finally, Meroko sighed.

"Well…ever since this whole thing started…you know, with Izumi…I've been feeling…I mean, I haven't really been sure…how I felt. About you…or Izumi."

"I can understand that," Takuto said hesitantly.

"Ever since Izumi came back, I've felt so confused about my feelings. I do have feelings for you, of course…but I'm not sure about him. It's like…something is telling me that I _have_ to start…feeling that same way about him…because he came back."

Takuto thought about that. "That makes sense."

Meroko gave him a careful look. "You're not…mad?"

"Mad?" Takuto looked confused. "Why would I be mad?"

"I might be in love with someone else," Meroko said incredulously. "You're not upset about that?"

Takuto looked down. "Tell me something. Do you remember the night in the alley? When Izumi and I got into that fight?"

Meroko winced at the memory, but nodded.

"Do you remember what I said?"

Meroko blushed. "You said…you said that you loved me."

Takuto nodded, his face serious. "And after that?"

"You said…um…" Meroko had to think for a second before it came back to her. "You said that I didn't have to answer you right away, and that you would love me no matter what I said…"

"That's right." Takuto moved closer, his eyes locked onto Meroko's, and wrapped his arm around Meroko, pulling her to him. "I meant what I said, Meroko. Even if you don't love me…even if you love him, I'll still love only you."

Meroko froze.

Takuto glanced at his watch. "I have to get going. I still have to pick up my car, and then I have to get back to work."

Meroko made a face. "I knew it."

Takuto grinned. "It's not that big of a deal." Then he gave Meroko an odd look. "Hey, shouldn't you be at work?"

"It's my day off."

"Oh."

Meroko stood up. "Want a ride?"

"Huh?"

"You didn't seriously think I was going to let you walk all the way back to your car, did you?"

"Actually, yes."

Meroko laughed. "You really do think I'm a bad girlfriend."

* * *

When they reached the spot where Takuto's car was parked, Takuto opened the passenger door and said, "Well…I guess this is it."

"Wait a second," Meroko said. "I want to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"Well…" Meroko lowered her head, suddenly blushing. "It's a weird question."

"Go ahead."

"Actually…it's, um…kind of embarrassing."

Takuto cocked his head. "How bad could it be?"

"Oh, trust me, it's bad."

They waited for a few seconds. Then Meroko took a deep breath and said, "You said…that you…um. Loved me."

Takuto nodded slowly.

"You wouldn't…" Meroko's face went even redder. "I mean, you weren't thinking of…you don't want to…"

Takuto suddenly realized what Meroko was talking about, and he went brilliant pink. "Man, you weren't kidding," he muttered, looking away.

"Sorry," Meroko said, burying her face in her hands. "I'm such an idiot. I cannot believe I said that. Forget I asked."

"Do you want an honest answer to that, or should I make up something less embarrassing?"

Meroko sighed. "Oh, go ahead. I'm already bright red; it can't get much worse."

"Well…" Takuto looked up a little. "I guess I should answer honestly. I know I act like a good guy, but…" A sheepish smile crept onto his face. "There are a couple of things I want to do with you. Very _badly_."

Meroko moved back involuntarily.

"Don't worry, Meroko," Takuto laughed. "I won't do anything you don't feel comfortable with. And besides, we were supposed to be staying away from each other for a while, remember?"

"Oh, crap!" Meroko slapped her forehead. "I completely forgot about that. You didn't get sick, did you?"

"No. I took some medicine when I got home, and now I feel just fine. Better safe than sorry, though."

"Yeah." Meroko nodded. "I mean, being bedridden with a fever was great and everything, but I'd rather not repeat the experience."

Takuto chuckled. "That's understandable."

He hesitated, and then his fingers reached up, gently brushing across Meroko's cheek. Meroko's eyes widened.

"Take care of yourself," Takuto whispered.

And then he was gone.

* * *

"Hey, Mitsuki," Meroko said into the phone that night. "Can I ask your advice on something?"

"Of course, Meroko," Mitsuki replied. "What is it?"

"Well…hmm…" Meroko thought. How to put this? "You and Eichi told each other that you love each other, right?"

"U-um…" Mitsuki sounded embarrassed, but a little pleased at the same time. "Yes…"

"So…um…how did you…know? That you were…in love with Eichi?" Meroko felt herself blushing. Why did she always sound like such an idiot?

"Oh!" Mitsuki sounded slightly less embarrassed as she answered. "Well…I guess it was when I realized…that I wanted nothing more than to be with Eichi…and that Eichi was more important to me than I was to myself."

"…Um, that last part didn't really make sense."

"Sorry," Mitsuki said apologetically. "I sometimes don't put things very well…" She thought for a moment. "What I meant was…Eichi's life was more important than mine."

Meroko couldn't help the slight gasp that came from her mouth. "You mean…"

"If someone gave me the choice between saving Eichi's life and saving my own, I'd pick him. Without question."

Meroko was silent for a few seconds. "Wow, Mitsuki," she whispered, awestruck. "That's really…whoa."

Mitsuki laughed. "I sound like someone out of a romance story, don't I?"

"No, don't worry. You're fine."

"Say…is this about Takuto?"

Meroko blushed. "Um…yeah, I guess it is."

"Oh…You want to know whether or not you love him?"

"Uh…yeah, pretty much," Meroko admitted sheepishly. "Any tips…?"

"Hmm…well…" Mitsuki thought about it. "It's different for everyone. But…you could go by what I said, I guess. When you care so much about him that you'd put his life above your own…when you realize that his place in your heart is something truly special."

"Um…" Meroko bit her lip, thinking. "So…it's like you feel about a friend, except you want to kiss them, too?"

"U-uh…well…" Mitsuki stuttered. "Not…I mean, it's…it's a little…different…"

At that moment, the doorbell rang.

"Oh, that's the door," Meroko said off-handedly. "Can I call you back later?"

"Y-yeah…" Mitsuki said, still sounding stunned from Meroko's word choice. "I-I'll see you later…"

* * *

In order to keep her mind off things, Meroko spent the next few days working as much overtime as possible at the supermarket. Most of the other people looked at her as if she were insane, but it was hard to puzzle over your romantic life and stack boxes of instant ramen on the shelves at the same time.

Still, Meroko couldn't escape the thoughts late at night, when she was lying in bed waiting for sleep to come.

_I can't drag this out forever,_ she told herself. _I have to do something soon…_

But even so, she was perfectly content with waiting as long as she could get away with.

* * *

Apparently, that wasn't as long as Meroko would have liked.

"It's me," Izumi said when Meroko answered the phone.

Meroko grimaced. "Oh…hi."

After a pause, Izumi said hesitantly, "How are you doing?"

"Fine. Great."

"Oh." Izumi tried again. "You're…feeling better, then…?"

"Yes. I'm fine," Meroko said forcefully. "Is that all? I'm expecting a call from someone."

"…Oh. All right. Goodbye, then." Izumi hung up.

Meroko sighed, putting the phone down and placing a hand over her eyes. _Izumi…why are you trying so hard? Why are you doing this to yourself? I don't understand…If you weren't going to give up, why did you end it in the first place?_

She walked into her bedroom, sat on the bed, and put a finger on the cloth of the quilt, absently tracing patterns with her nail.

_Why…?_

After a few seconds, she suddenly reached for the drawer of her dresser and pulled it open. She reached around inside and picked up a small strip of photographs, looking down at them carefully.

_These are from when me and Takuto were in that photo booth…_ she thought. _I remember this…_ Her smile widened slightly.

"_Hey, look, Takuto! A photo booth!"_

"_Oh, those? I never did like them…I think they're kind of cramped."_

"_Oh, come on! Let's go get our picture done!"_

"_Meroko…"_

"_Please? It'll be fun! I'll let you keep half!"_

"_Oh…"_

"_It'll be fun! Really!"_

Meroko laughed softly, stroking the pictures with her finger. "That was so fun," she whispered. They had made some pretty crazy faces.

As Meroko stared at the pictures, something struck her.

This had all happened a while back. Before Izumi had come back, before Takuto had said that he loved Meroko. Before Meroko's life had become so complicated.

Why couldn't all of life be like this? This hadn't been sad, heartbreaking, or complicated in any way. It had just been pleasure. Simple happiness. Why couldn't things be that way now?

Without thinking, Meroko went for her cell phone, picked it up, and dialed Takuto's number.

"Hello?" Takuto answered.

"Hey," Meroko said. "I know this is really sudden and everything, but…do you want to go out?"

* * *

After their date, Takuto walked Meroko up to his apartment and asked, "Want a cup of tea?"

"Yeah, sure," Meroko said with a nod. She walked in and sat on the couch while Takuto went to the kitchen to make tea.

When the tea was done, Takuto brought Meroko a cup. "Here."

"Aren't you going to have one?"

"Nah, I'm not really thirsty." Takuto sat down on the couch next to Meroko. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Well…" Takuto sat up a little straighter. "I mean, I had a really great time tonight, but I was wondering…What made you want to go out?"

"Huh?" Meroko looked at Takuto, blinking in confusion. "We're still dating, aren't we?"

"Well, yeah…" Takuto looked a bit pink. "That wasn't what I…I mean, I know. But…it's just that we haven't really gone out on a real date since this whole thing started. I didn't push the issue, because I thought you wanted a little time to yourself. But now…tonight, it was kind of like the past few weeks didn't happen."

Meroko sighed. "That was the point, Takuto." She looked down. "Do you remember that time we went to the photo booth a couple of months ago?"

"Yeah…"

"I was looking at those pictures earlier, and I…" Meroko swallowed. "I just wanted everything to go back to how it was before. I wanted life to be that simple. Back then…it was so easy. None of this…this doubt, or complication…everything was really easy."

Meroko felt a tear forming in her eye, and quickly brushed it away. "I wanted things to be like that again," she finished softly.

Her head turned, and she stared at Takuto with a desperate look in her eyes.

"I just…"

Takuto watched her for a while. Then he moved close to Meroko and pressed his hand lightly on her waist. He waited, looking slightly hesitant, as though he was afraid he had overstepped a boundary.

She didn't move. She only stared at him, her expression unfathomable.

When she didn't protest, he lay down next to her and kissed her, burying his hands in her long pink hair. She pushed her body against his, kissing him long and deep.

As he moved his hands down and started to unbutton her shirt, she said faintly, "Maybe the bed."

He seemed to think that made sense. He led her into his bedroom and shut the door behind him.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" he whispered.

"Yes," Meroko replied immediately, her voice quiet.

It didn't take long for them to get on the bed, with him straddling her. He pulled her shirt away and threw it to the floor. She reached up and helped him pull his own shirt off.

As his hand floated over her stomach, he asked, "Is this too fast?"

"I don't know. Maybe a little." She moaned very softly. "But please don't stop."

He nodded and began tugging at her skirt. He was clumsy, but she didn't care.

When he had gotten her skirt off, he leaned down and whispered into her ear, "I love you."

Meroko felt tears welling up in her eyes. "Takuto…"

He smiled at her. "You don't have to say anything."

She knew that, but she couldn't go on without saying one last thing.

She placed her hands on his waist, and her voice was soft and passionate when she spoke.

"I love you, too." He didn't ask for the words, but she gave them anyway.

* * *

Afterwards, Takuto wanted her to sleep over, but Meroko wanted to be alone for a while. More than that, though, she wanted to wake up in her own bed.

He was sorry, she could tell. But he drove her home and walked her to her apartment door.

"You okay?" he asked as she fished around in her purse for her keys.

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm okay. Really, I am." She smiled at him. "Don't worry about me."

He smiled back. "Can I come over tomorrow?"

"Sure." Meroko pulled out her keys. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He nodded, turned, and left, the smile still on his face.

* * *

She lay awake in bed for a long time, considering what had happened. People said that it often hurt or felt bad, but Meroko felt fine. Then again, she reminded herself, this wasn't her first time.

It had been Takuto's first time, though. She could tell. She wondered how he was feeling right now. Was he happy? Disappointed? What? She wished she knew.

_Am I happy?_ Meroko asked herself. _Did I really want that?_

Her heart jumped in with an immediate answer. _Yes._

She did. It may not have been her first time, but it had been beautiful and she didn't regret it at all.

_But…_

She thought of Izumi again.

_I…_

She closed her eyes tightly, clutching the blanket.

Somewhere in her heart, she wished that tonight had been her first time, and that she hadn't already given that away to Izumi. But that was something that she could never change.

If she'd learned anything through this whole ordeal, it was this: the past was set in stone, and once it happened, it was in there for good, never to be taken back.

**

* * *

Takuto and Meroko needed a little more attention. Sometimes they get kind of mad when Izumi tries to hog the spotlight.**

**In case you guys haven't yet read my profile (which is likely), this story is getting pretty close to finished. There will be two more chapters, plus an epilogue. So…three more chapters, I guess.**

**Seeing as the story's getting closer and closer to complete, you only have a limited amount of time left to vote on the trilogy idea! If you haven't yet put in your thoughts about that, please do so. No matter how much I want to do a trilogy, I won't do it if I don't think anyone will read it.**

**RRE.**


	11. A Wonder and a Wish

**Finally, after weeks upon weeks of writer's block and slow-coming ideas, here is the much-awaited (at least I think so) Chapter Eleven of Fire and Rain.**

**In this chapter, you'll get plenty of Takuto x Meroko flashbacks (finally), and Meroko will finally make the fateful choice. Which will she choose—Takuto or Izumi? Read and find out!**

* * *

The next day, Meroko called in sick to work. She hated lying to her boss like that, but she needed time to think.

She drove to the park and went to her bench, sitting down with a sigh.

In her mind, she saw herself standing at a crossroads, with two worn dirt paths stretching out in opposite directions before her eyes. Takuto was standing on one path; Izumi was standing on the other. Both men stood with their backs to Meroko, looking out at the horizon.

She saw herself staring at those two men with torn eyes, pain evident in her expression.

It was her choice. The choice that she was faced with now.

She could take one road and be with Takuto. Continue with life the way she had been before Izumi made his reappearance. Keep dating Takuto.

Or she could take the other road—the one she had been on in the past—and be with Izumi. Go back to where she had started.

_I have to decide,_ Meroko thought. She sighed and closed her eyes._ I've been trying to run from this choice…but I can't put it off any longer._

_But which one? Which one do I choose? I can't be with both of them…_

Meroko looked up at the sky, which was pale blue and covered with fluffy white clouds. _Tell me what to do,_ she begged silently, not sure who she was pleading with.

Who was the right one? Who did she really love?

_Takuto. I love Takuto. When Izumi broke my heart, I moved on. Right? Didn't I?_

That was what she had thought. When she was dating Takuto and feeling her happiness swell, she had thought that with all her heart. She had _known_ that.

But when Izumi reappeared, all the usual lines blurred, and her heart was thrown into doubt. She was confused about her feelings. She thought that maybe Izumi's coming back meant that she was supposed to start loving him again. That maybe she hadn't loved Takuto, that maybe she had only gone to him out of emotional necessity.

"No," Meroko whispered. She shook her head. That couldn't be true.

Then why was this choice so hard to make?

_I love Takuto. I didn't lie to him. I can't have._

She closed her eyes as a memory swam to the surface of her mind. A memory of an important day. The day when her heart had truly begun to heal, when her scars had gotten lighter. When life finally seemed like it was really beginning to turn around.

The day she had met Takuto.

* * *

"_Don't worry, Mitsuki," Meroko said into her phone. "I'm on my way."_

"_Are you sure you're okay with walking to my house? I can come pick you up if you want."_

"_No, really, it's okay," Meroko assured Mitsuki. "I'm only a couple of blocks away. I'll be there in a few minutes."_

"_Well…all right. See you."_

"_Bye."_

_Meroko closed her phone and slid it into her pocket. "I said that, but…" She made a dire face and wiped her forehead with her hand. "It's so hot out…Why did my stupid car have to pick today to break down?"_

_She walked over to a bench and sat down. "Ugh…I think I'll rest here for a minute."_

_The man sitting at the other end of the bench seemed to tense. Meroko glanced at him. He had brown hair, but that was the only thing she could determine about him; his face and upper body were completely obscured by the large newspaper he was reading._

_Shrugging, Meroko opened her purse and began rifling through it. "Now where did the business card for that car fixing place go…? I swear I saw it just this morning…"_

_As she was digging through the contents of her purse, she was conscious of the man's eyes on her. She turned faintly pink and tried to ignore it, but the harder she dug through her purse, the more the man seemed to stare._

_Finally, she pulled out the business card. Closing her purse, she turned to the man and said, "Do you need something?"_

"_Oh…" The man seemed surprised. "It's…well, no, it's nothing."_

_Meroko raised an eyebrow. "Okay…"_

_The man didn't seem to want to leave it at that. "I mean…" He lowered the newspaper slightly. "Don't you…I mean, you're not…freaking out."_

"_Freaking out?" Meroko frowned with confusion. "Why would I do that?"_

"_Well…" The man shifted uncomfortably. "It's just…Most people seem to…freak out a little when they're around me. And…you haven't."_

"_Oh…"_

"_Not that that's a bad thing," he continued hurriedly. "It's…kind of nice, actually."_

_Meroko blinked. "Oh. Um, thanks." She stood up. "Well, I'd better get going. It was nice talking to you."_

"_Yeah. You too."_

* * *

Unbeknownst to Meroko, a smile was hovering on her face.

_I was such an idiot,_ she thought fondly. _I had no idea who Takuto was…but he was still new, and I didn't watch much TV or read the newspaper…_

She wondered how different that moment would have been if she'd known who Takuto really was. Probably a lot different.

What happened at Mitsuki's house afterwards would have been different, too.

* * *

"_Hey, Meroko, do you mind if I turn on the news?"_

_Meroko shook her head. "No, I don't mind, Mitsuki."_

_Mitsuki picked up the remote, turned on the TV, and flicked to the news._

"_And now, here's a few words from the singer himself—none other than Mr. Takuto Kira," a reporter was saying. The camera moved over to reveal a brown-haired man with gray eyes._

"_So tell me, Mr. Kira, what's it feel like to be such an amazing hit when you're still fairly new to the music scene?" the reporter asked._

_The man named Takuto smiled into the camera. "Well…"_

_Meroko froze, and her eyes snapped up. "That's him!" she breathed in shock._

_Mitsuki looked at Meroko in confused. "What?"_

"_Mitsuki, I met him!" Meroko said, pointing to the TV. "That man, Takuto Kira! I met him on the way to your house!"_

_Mitsuki gasped. "What? No way! You met Takuto Kira? What happened?"_

"_I just stopped on a bench to rest, and there was a guy next to me with a newspaper, and we got to talking—" Meroko shook her head in amazement. "I couldn't see his face, I didn't recognize his voice, either—"_

"_Wow…this is amazing," Mitsuki said breathlessly. "Takuto Kira is such a great singer. He's still new to music, but he's become pretty popular already."_

_As Mitsuki rambled on, Meroko sat there in shock._ I can't believe I was talking with a famous person…_ she thought._

_She remembered what he'd said to her, about people usually freaking out around him._ That was what he meant,_ she realized._ He was talking about his fans…

_She looked back at his face on the screen, and didn't say a word._

* * *

Looking back, she wasn't sure how she hadn't recognized him. She'd heard people talk about him, and surely she'd seen him on the news at least once. Then again, Meroko was never big on the news.

Oh, well. It was a good thing she hadn't recognized him. After all, if she had, so many things would have been different…

* * *

_Meroko tugged on the edge of her skirt as she stood anxiously in the ticket line. She tried to see above the heads of the people in front of her, but couldn't._

"_Will I see him here?" she whispered. "Oh, what am I saying? Of course I'll see him here…it's his concert…I'm such an idiot…"_

_A loud squeal erupted around her, and she covered her ears. "What…?"_

_She turned around, and saw Takuto getting out of a long black limousine._

_Now that she'd seen him in person without the newspaper, she couldn't understand how she'd missed him before. She really needed to be more observant._

_Most of the audience—the largely dominant female part—squealed again, and Meroko rolled her eyes. _Man, I understand that he's a star, but still…_ she thought._

_Takuto smiled into the flashing camera lights as he walked toward the door and past the line of waiting ticket-purchasers. He waved a few times._

_Suddenly, he stopped._

"_Hey," he said, sounding a little surprised. "I know you."_

_Meroko blinked and looked up, startled at the realization that she was being spoken to._

"_Oh…" She nodded slowly, uncomfortably aware of the dozens—no, _hundreds_—of eyes on her, and the numerous cameras that had suddenly turned her way. "Um…yeah. We talked the other day…"_

_Takuto grinned. "Yeah. Guess you understand what I meant, huh?"_

"_Uh, what?"_

"_You know, about people freaking out a little," Takuto explained._

"_Oh…" Meroko felt her face slowly going red. "Y-yeah…I guess so."_

_Takuto nodded. "Well, have fun at the concert…um, what's your name?"_

_Meroko felt as if her heart had stopped. Was this really happening?_

"_Meroko," she breathed. "Meroko Yui."_

"_Meroko, huh?" Takuto smiled. "That's a cute name." He turned. "Alright, later, everyone! Bye, Meroko!"_

_The people surrounding Meroko turned and watched Takuto go in shock, but Meroko just stood there, staring at where he'd been standing, a blank look on her face._

_When Takuto had disappeared, a throng of people suddenly converged on Meroko, and she heard herself yelp._

"_You know Takuto?"_

"_Oh my gosh, are you Takuto's girlfriend? His secret lover?"_

"_What kind of girls does Takuto like?"_

"_What's it like dating Takuto?"_

"_H-Hey!" Meroko shouted. "Wait—I'm not—"_

"_It's gotta be cool, having a famous boyfriend like that!"_

"_Are you guys gonna get married?"_

"_Everyone—" Meroko raised her voice. "Takuto's not my—"_

"_Will you get me his autograph?"_

"_When are you going out with him again?"_

"_Everyone _shut up_!" Meroko screamed, stamping her foot on the ground. The people around Meroko gasped, drawing back._

"_Takuto's not my boyfriend!" Meroko continued angrily at the top of her lungs. "I just met him on the street, okay? Leave me alone!"_

_And with that, she took off running._

* * *

She had been so shocked. That someone like him had actually singled her out, in front of so many people. Wanted to talk to her.

_He didn't shun me. He didn't push me away._

But…

* * *

_She managed to make it back to her apartment without anyone following her, to her immense relief._

"_That…" she panted, leaning against the wall and trying to catch her breath. "What…what was…"_

I can't believe it…Someone as famous as Takuto…He actually remembered my name, and talked to me in front of everyone like that…

_Meroko felt her face turning brilliant red again._ What…? What is this feeling? Why am I…so…so happy…?

_She shook her head hurriedly. "No, no, no," she whispered. "I can't…because of…" Her hand shakily moved up to clutch her heart. "But if that's the case, then why am I still…so happy?"_

So happy that someone called out to me…It was…

_The phone rang, and Meroko jumped. "W-wow…" she said dazedly, going for the phone. "That scared me…" She picked it up. "U-um, hello?"_

"_Is this Meroko Yui?"_

_Meroko froze. That voice…_

"_Yes…" She swallowed. "May I…may I ask who's calling?"_

"_It's Takuto. Takuto Kira, remember?"_

_Meroko nodded, then remembered that she was on the phone. "Yeah."_

"_Listen, Meroko, about today…"_

_Meroko bit her lip. "Yes…?"_

"_I heard that you ran away after I left, and…I just wanted to apologize. I'm sorry if I said something that made you uncomfortable."_

"_No!" Meroko said frantically. "No, you didn't say anything—it wasn't your fault at all!"_

"_Oh?" Takuto sounded surprised. "Oh, um…Okay, then…"_

"_Yeah…I'm sorry if I made you feel bad," Meroko said. Something occurred to her. "Wait a minute…how did you get my phone number?"_

"_Phonebook…"_

"…_Oh." Meroko blushed, feeling embarrassed. Of course he'd looked it up in the phonebook. Everyone did that._

"_Yeah."_

_There was a long, awkward silence, finally broken when Meroko said, "Well…um, I've gotta go. So…" She made a wild gesture, then stopped. _What am I doing?_ she thought. _I'm on the phone.

"_Oh…okay. I…I guess I'll see you around, then."_

"_Y-yeah, sure," Meroko said, nodding frantically. "Bye."_

_She turned the phone off, slammed it onto the receiver, and stepped back, her heart pounding._

Why…? Why is my heart pounding like this?

_Her hand rose up and covered her heart._

I don't understand…

* * *

Meroko laughed aloud. "I am such an _idiot_."

A young man walking by gave Meroko an odd look.

_How could I have not known that I was starting to like him?_ Meroko closed her eyes. _Honestly. Do I know anything at all?_

* * *

"_Meroko, are you _sure_ you don't like him?"_

_Meroko turned her head. "I do not like him, Mitsuki. You know that I'm done with love."_

"_But you've gone to every concert of his since the day you met him…and you have a bunch of his pictures in your bedroom…"_

"_I do not!" Meroko's face had gone furiously red. "What are you talking about?"_

"_They're on your bed." Mitsuki pointed at Meroko's open door. The black-and-white newspaper photos of Takuto Kira were clearly visible on Meroko's bed._

"_That's—that's nothing!" Meroko ran over to her bedroom and yanked the door shut. "Look, Mitsuki, I've got to get ready. I'm going out tonight."_

"_Oh, really? Where to?"_

"_Um…" Meroko shuffled her feet lightly. "There's a concert tonight."_

_Mitsuki sighed. "You know, Meroko, it's okay if you like him. I know that…"_

_She hesitated, and Meroko said, "Go on," suspicion in her voice._

"_Well…" Mitsuki looked at Meroko uncertainly. "It's just that…I know you still think about…well, I know that it's been hard for you, ever since…Izumi—"_

"_I have to get ready," Meroko interrupted, her voice instantly cold. "I'll call you tomorrow. Bye."_

_Mitsuki swallowed, looking away. "Bye, Meroko." Without another word, she hurried out the door._

* * *

Meroko remembered how angry she'd gotten at the mention of Izumi's name. She'd always hated it when Mitsuki brought him up—because the moment Meroko was alone, she would have to fight to hold down the pain that she had worked so long to eliminate.

Thinking of that reminded Meroko of the night of their break-up, when Meroko had screamed and cried and thrown things against the walls of her apartment. It had taken her hours to let out all the anger—some at Izumi, but most of it at herself.

And when she had finally run out of steam, she had ended up on the floor, sobbing wordlessly and shaking all over.

The sun had risen on a broken girl and a promise that eventually turned out to be empty.

It still hurt Meroko to think of it.

* * *

_Meroko's eyes—completely lifeless—observed the room around her, and Meroko didn't say a word._

If you are going to leave me…

"_It's simple," Meroko said, her voice devoid of emotion. Slowly, she got to her feet, her eyes fixed on the floor._

If you are going to leave me…then I don't need you anymore either.

"_I don't have to feel pain anymore…"_

_The phone started ringing, but Meroko stumbled blindly to the kitchen, ignoring the sound. After a few rings, the machine picked up._

Click.

"Meroko, it's me. It's Izumi. Pick up the phone, Meroko …"

_Meroko stared at the machine with blank eyes. "Izumi?"_

"Meroko…? Okay, you're not there. Listen, Meroko, about yesterday…" _There was a long pause. _"Look, just call me, okay?"

Click.

"_Do you really think it's so simple?" Meroko whispered, turning away. Her hand clenched into a fist._

"_He never loved me…He never really cared about me," she said softly._

_Her eyes closed. "If that's the case…I won't let you back, Izumi. You won't hurt me anymore…"_

You will never hurt me again. I won't be hurt again.

"_I will never love again."_

* * *

Meroko winced. She'd been in really bad shape. It had taken her a while to pull herself out of her depression and act anywhere near normal again.

But even so, she hadn't really become herself again until meeting Takuto, she realized.

_Why, though?_

How could one love destroy her so much, while another built her up again? What made it that way?

Meroko looked down at her hands. _Takuto…_

* * *

"_MITSUKI!"_

_Mitsuki looked up in shock at the sight of Meroko running toward her, waving her arms frantically, and yelling._

"_Meroko?" Mitsuki cried. "What's wrong? Are you—?"_

"_TAKUTO ASKED ME OUT!"_

"_What?" Mitsuki screamed. "No way! Really?"_

_Meroko nodded frantically, her whole body trembling with excitement. "Yeah! I can't believe it! He really asked me out, Mitsuki! Takuto asked me out!"_

"_That's awesome!" Mitsuki squealed, taking Meroko's hands. "I'm so happy for you! You guys are really dating now? That's great! When are you guys gonna go out?"_

_Meroko's face suddenly fell, and she looked away, the enthusiasm draining from her form. "I…well…"_

_Mitsuki looked at Meroko with a dawning expression. "Meroko…you didn't…"_

"_I didn't say no, exactly," Meroko whispered. "I told him…that I had to think about it."_

"_Oh." Mitsuki observed Meroko carefully. "But…why?"_

_Meroko turned back to Mitsuki. "What if…what if he turns out to be like…" Her voice trailed off, and she started again. "What if the same thing…happens again? Mitsuki…" she said pleadingly. "I don't want to go through that…not again…I can't…"_

"_Oh, Meroko," Mitsuki said softly. She leaned forward and wrapped Meroko in a soft embrace._

"_I want to go out with him," Meroko croaked tearfully. "I want to so badly…I really do. But…I don't want to be hurt again…" She sniffled loudly. "I'm so afraid…God, Mitsuki, I'm so afraid…"_

_She clung tighter to Mitsuki, who sighed._

"_I know you're scared, Meroko," Mitsuki whispered in Meroko's ear. "I know that you've been hurt before, and that this might be hard for you. But if you don't let people back into your heart, you'll never really heal."_

_She backed up and locked eyes with Meroko. "I can't tell you that there won't be a risk in going out with Takuto. There's always going to be a risk. But you'll never know until you try."_

_Meroko swallowed, bit her lip, and nodded. "Yeah…"_

_Mitsuki placed her hand on Meroko's shoulder. "You have to be strong."_

"_Yeah." Meroko nodded again. "You're right. Thank you, Mitsuki…thank you so much."_

_She smiled. "I think I'm going to be busy this weekend."_

* * *

And six months later, here she was.

She'd promised Mitsuki that she would be strong, but what was she doing? Letting someone from her past throw her heart into doubt.

_I wasn't just trying to replace Izumi. When I said yes to Takuto…I really meant it. He was the one I wanted to be with._

Meroko suddenly stood.

_He was the one I wanted to be with…_

As she ran for the place where her car was parked, she realized what a fool she'd been.

She'd had a great relationship with Takuto, and she had truly cared about him. And she'd let Izumi come waltzing in and mess it up.

How could she have doubted herself so easily? Why hadn't she remembered all the reasons she was with Takuto in the first place? Why hadn't she remembered how much she really did care about him?

_Takuto…Takuto…_

_I'm sorry, Takuto…I'm so sorry…_

She had forgotten so easily…

_I never meant to, Takuto…_

Her hand thrust into her purse, searching frantically for her car keys, and her breath came in great gasps.

_I…_

* * *

_Knock, knock, knock._

"Coming!" Takuto hopped to his feet and walked over to the door.

His face was immediately blanketed in a mixture of surprise, embarrassment, and pleasure. "Oh…! Meroko…"

Meroko smiled. "Hey, stranger."

Before Takuto could continue, Meroko leaned up and kissed him gently on the lips.

She pulled away within seconds, still smiling as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Meroko…?" Takuto pulled her closer, confused. "What…"

"I'm sorry, Takuto," Meroko whispered.

Takuto's brow furrowed. "What for?"

"This entire time, I thought I didn't know how I felt." Meroko's voice was soft. "I doubted myself, and I doubted you. I let myself think that I didn't care about you as much as I thought. That was wrong of me. I'm so sorry. Please…please forgive me."

Her eyes closed. "I love you, Takuto. I really love you."

When she looked up a moment later, she saw that there were tears in his eyes.

"Takuto?" she asked.

Takuto smiled. "I've always loved you, Meroko. Ever since day one. Always."

Meroko laughed gently. "I'm sorry I made you cry."

"It's alright." Takuto wiped away the single tear that had fallen from his eye, and his smile widened into a grin. "I couldn't be happier."

**

* * *

Aw…isn't that sweet? I hope so; it took me forever.**

**Okay, then. The next chapter will technically be the final chapter of the main story, but there will be an epilogue after it. So, yes, the story is indeed nearing the end.**

**And if you haven't given your opinion on the trilogy idea (I must be driving everyone mad by now), you're running out of chances to do so! Click that Review button, peeps!**

**RRE.**


	12. A New Beginning

**This is it, guys! Second-to-last chapter of ****Fire and Rain****, coming at you.**

* * *

When Meroko got home to her apartment, the first thing she did was run to her bed and collapse and sob tears of joy.

It was a little while before she could regain enough composure to sit up and dry her face. Even then, a few tears still leaked out.

But Meroko couldn't help it. She didn't want to be able to help it.

She felt so _happy_.

_My heart feels whole again. Whole…_

She put a hand to her heart and closed her eyes, listening to the soft beating.

Her heart had finally healed again—and, man, did it feel wonderful.

* * *

"So guess what?" Meroko said when Mitsuki picked up the phone.

"What?"

"I did what I needed to do."

"About what?"

"About Takuto and Izumi. I did what I needed to do."

Mitsuki screamed. "No way! Tell me _everything_."

Meroko did.

Mitsuki screamed again. "Meroko, that's great! I'm so proud of you!"

Meroko smiled. "I'm proud of me, too."

* * *

The cheerfulness lasted for another few minutes after Meroko and Mitsuki hung up, but it gradually dimmed when Meroko realized that she had one more phone call to make.

It took Meroko a few minutes to build up enough courage to pick up the phone again and start dialing. But she knew that this was something that couldn't wait.

_You promised you'd be strong,_ she reminded herself. _Now's the time to start living up to that promise._

No one picked up the phone, so Meroko left a message.

"Hey there. It's Meroko." A brief pause. "We need to talk. When you get this message, meet me at the park. The bench where we always used to meet before. You remember, right? It's…" Meroko quickly checked the clock. "Half past three now. I'm going to wait until seven, and then I'll be at home. Bye."

She hung up and took a deep, shuddering breath. Part of her job was done.

But Meroko knew that the hardest part was yet to come.

* * *

Izumi didn't keep her waiting long.

Meroko was sitting on the park bench when she saw Izumi approaching. She looked at him, but didn't say anything. He sat down next to her with a nod.

"Hi, Izumi," Meroko said.

"Hi."

They were both quiet for a little while. Then Izumi said, "You wanted to talk?"

Something in his voice told Meroko that he had a hint as to what this was going to be about. She turned her head towards him.

"I have some stuff to say to you," she started.

He looked at her silently.

She drew in her breath and slowly let it out. _You can do this,_ she told herself.

"Ever since this whole thing started, I've been a little uncertain about my feelings. When you came back…I wasn't sure what that meant. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to ignore you or go back to loving you."

He didn't say anything. She kept going.

"But the other night, with Takuto…well…anyway, I did some thinking, and I realized that I shouldn't be doubt how I feel."

Her eyes softened, and so did her voice.

"I really do love Takuto, Izumi."

He turned away slightly, but she could tell that he had heard.

"Izumi, I'm sorry," Meroko said gently. "I'm sorry about everything."

She faced forward again. She realized that she was fiddling with her hands, and she made herself stop.

"I'm sorry about us breaking up," she said. "I'm sorry about whatever I did to make you break up with me. I'm sorry that you came back and did all that you did just to win me back."

She sighed. "I'm really sorry."

He was silent for a long time. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet.

"Honestly, Meroko, I can't say that I'm surprised. I think that I knew that all along, even when you yourself couldn't see it. But…I was selfish and hopeful. I clung to the false notion that maybe, even after I had hurt you, you would still be able to love me. That maybe you hadn't been able to forget about me after all. I was wrong."

He looked over at Meroko, eyes betraying nothing.

"About me breaking up with you…I'm sorry, too. That wasn't your fault. I swear it."

Meroko turned back to him. "Then why, Izumi?" she asked. "Why did you make me think that you loved me and then leave? Why did you turn your back on me like that?"

"That wasn't what I meant to do."

"Then what?"

Izumi sighed. "On that night when we…did what we did…it was the most beautiful night of my life. I meant every word that I said. I didn't lie to you. I didn't make any of it up."

Meroko's eyes widened slightly.

"But when I woke up, I realized just how close we really were. Just how much I loved you. It was stronger than anything I had ever felt. And it scared me."

He smiled bitterly.

"I was afraid of being that close to someone. I was afraid that if we became that close, something would happen between us that would tear us apart, and it would hurt worse than anything. I was afraid of being hurt. I was afraid of _you_ being hurt." He gave a little laugh. "I thought that I was protecting you from myself. Protecting you from anything I might do to hurt you. Instead, I hurt you worse than anything ever could."

He locked eyes with her, his gaze intense. "You never knew this, but I did see you once afterwards…before this whole thing happened, I mean. It was a couple of weeks later." He shook his head. "You were a wreck, Meroko. Your eyes were filled with so much pain, and you looked like you were struggling to hold yourself together…I felt horrible. I couldn't believe that I'd done that to you."

Meroko swallowed. Had she really been that bad?

"I'm sorry," Izumi said. "I never should have doubted myself like that. I shouldn't have broken your heart. Can you ever forgive me for what I did?"

Meroko smiled. "I already have," she said gently.

Izumi smiled back. "Thank you."

They were both quiet for a little while longer. Then Izumi said, "I've been a fool this whole time, haven't I?"

Meroko frowned. "That's a little harsh."

"It's true. I've been chasing you all this time, but I never would have had to if I hadn't let you go. I'm such an idiot."

"That's not true, Izumi," Meroko said firmly. "You were just confused. Your heart was always in the right place."

"Thanks." Izumi looked away. "I'm sorry for forcing you to choose between me and Takuto."

"It's alright."

"No, it's not. I could see the bond that you two shared and it made me jealous. I wanted you to myself."

"It's alright, Izumi. I understand."

Izumi sighed again. "Tell me something, Meroko. Did you ever wonder what would have happened if we hadn't broken up?"

Meroko nodded slowly. "Yes. A lot. I used to think about that all the time."

Izumi looked up at the sky, his face distant. "I don't want to sound cocky or anything. But I think we would have been happy together. We would probably still be together, you know. We might even have married."

Meroko blushed. "Um…"

"I'm sorry. Was that too much?"

"No, no, it's fine." Meroko looked away. "And…maybe I shouldn't be saying this, but…I think you're right. We would have been happy." She closed her eyes. "When we were going out…it was one of the happiest times of my life. I'll always look back on it and be happy."

Izumi touched her arm gently. "Thank you," he said, his voice tender. "That means a lot to me."

They were both quiet for a while. Then Meroko stood up. "Well, I guess I should be going."

"Yeah, me too." Izumi stood up. "Thank you for everything, Meroko. I'm sorry about this whole mess. I won't bother you anymore."

He started to leave.

"Wait, Izumi!" Meroko called out after him.

Izumi looked back.

"Izumi…why does this have to be the end?" Meroko asked. "Maybe we're not dating anymore…but couldn't we be friends? Even if we're not in love, I don't want this to have to be the end."

Izumi thought for a few seconds. Then he smiled. "I'd like that."

"Me too." Meroko smiled back. Then she thought of something. "You won't use this as an excuse to kill Takuto, will you?"

Izumi had to laugh at that. "No, I won't," he assured her.

Meroko walked up to him until they were standing a few inches apart. They looked into each other's eyes.

"Well…I guess this is goodbye, then," said Izumi.

"Not for good," Meroko reminded him.

"No. Not for good," Izumi agreed.

They didn't talk for several long seconds, and Meroko carefully looked at his eyes. She saw the happiness at them being friends, but she also saw, hidden away in the back, the deep heartbreak. He was trying to hide his pain behind a mask, but Meroko saw it clear. She had a feeling that after this, he was going to go somewhere alone and fall apart. It made her sad to think about that.

She took both of his hands in hers, and said, "I'm sorry."

Izumi smiled. "It's okay."

Then he leaned down and gently kissed her on the forehead. "I love you," he whispered.

"I know."

"Well…I'll see you around."

"See you."

They stepped forward and embraced each other for a few seconds. Then Meroko pulled away and walked to her car.

_Izumi…I forgive you for what you did. It's okay._

A smile slowly stretched across her face.

_What you and I had was special, too. It may not have worked out, but our time together wasn't all bad. I have a lot of happy memories from that time._

Meroko took a look back. She couldn't see Izumi anymore.

She unlocked her car door and climbed in.

As she was about to start the car, she whispered, "Thank you."

* * *

After his conversation with Meroko, Izumi walked to the pond, where he stood until the sun set and the darkness came in. His golden eyes were fixed on the water, which was barely visible in the darkness of the night.

He could still feel Meroko's arms around him, holding him gently.

_Thank you, Meroko. You really are the best._

He smiled.

"Takuto…" He looked up at the sky. "You have a great relationship with a great woman. For both of your sakes, I hope that you see in Meroko everything that I see."

He looked back at the still water of the pond.

"And Meroko…"

He felt his eyes and his heart filling up.

"Please be happy," he whispered.

He closed his eyes, and the tears finally began to fall.

* * *

By the time Meroko got home, she felt inexplicably exhausted. Her heart was filled with just about every emotion out there. Far too many feelings to think about. All she wanted was to fall on her bed and sleep.

She fumbled with her key in the lock of her door, yawning.

When she got in, a cheerful voice said, "Hey, Meroko!"

Meroko blinked in shock. Mitsuki and Takuto were both standing in her apartment, smiling at her.

"Takuto? Mitsuki?" Meroko looked from one to the other. "What are you guys doing here?"

"I saw you heading for the park, and I had a guess as to who you were meeting there," Mitsuki explained. "I figured you could use a couple of friends."

Meroko felt tears welling up in her eyes. "You guys…"

Takuto stepped forward. "So how did it go?"

Meroko smiled. "It went alright. Everything's okay now." She sighed. "Thank you both so much for coming. It really means a lot to me."

"Aw, don't mention it!" Mitsuki said with a wink. "It's what we do!"

Takuto and Mitsuki both stepped forward and hugged Meroko tightly. The three of them stood in a group hug for a while.

Finally, they broke apart, and Meroko said, "So who wants to go get dinner?"

"We do!" Takuto and Mitsuki both said together.

* * *

They walked down the hallway and out to the parking lot together. Meroko walked in the middle, holding hands with Takuto and Mitsuki, who were both standing on either side of her.

Meroko had a wide smile on her face that she couldn't shake off.

_Everything's going to be alright,_ a voice whispered in her head.

Mitsuki broke away in the parking lot and pulled out her cell phone. "Do you guys mind if I call Eichi and ask him to meet us there?"

"Sure, that's fine," Takuto said. "Hey, where are we going, anyway?"

Meroko thought about this. "How about that one little Italian place over by the movie theater?" Takuto and Mitsuki both agreed to this.

As Mitsuki stepped aside to call Eichi, Meroko remembered Izumi, and had a thought. She pulled Takuto over and whispered, "Do you mind if I ask Izumi to come?"

Takuto frowned. "Izumi? What about…"

"It's okay," Meroko said. "It's okay now."

Takuto nodded. "It's fine with me."

Meroko nodded and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed in Izumi's number and waited for someone to pick up.

Just as it was about to go to the answering machine, Izumi picked up. "Hello?"

"Izumi?"

"Oh. Meroko. Hello."

"Hey, um…" Meroko twisted a strand of her hair around her finger, awkwardly searching for a way to word her question. "Do you want to come to dinner with me and Takuto and Mitsuki and Eichi?"

"Dinner?" Izumi sounded surprised. "With all of you?"

"Yeah!" Meroko nodded, even thought she knew he couldn't see her. "It'll be fun!" She realized that she sounded a little fake.

Izumi was quiet for a while. Then he said, "Where?"

Meroko grinned excitedly. "That Italian place by the movie theater," she replied, feeling giddy. "Do you know how to get there?"

"Yes, I do."

"Alright. We'll see you there, then!"

"Alright. Goodbye."

"Bye!"

Meroko hung up, feeling a sense of hope.

Just as she was putting her phone away, Mitsuki walked back over. "Eichi's going to meet us over there," she said. "You both ready?"

"Yeah." Meroko nodded. "Hey, Mitsuki, Izumi's going to meet us there too, okay?"

Mitsuki looked a little surprised, but she trusted Meroko. "Okay."

* * *

They drove to the Italian place, and only had to wait for a minute before Eichi showed up.

"Hi," he said, wrapping Mitsuki in a hug.

"Hi!" Mitsuki said back. She looked at Meroko happily over Eichi's shoulder, and Meroko had to stifle a laugh.

"So, where's Izumi?" Takuto asked, glancing around.

"I'm not sure." Meroko shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I think he has to come from a little farther out. Maybe we'll wait a couple of minutes."

They did wait a couple of minutes. And a couple of minutes later, Izumi's car pulled up.

Meroko looked at him carefully. He didn't look like the world was about to cave in. His eyes did look faintly pink, though—so faint that it was very hard to catch. She realized that he'd been crying, and she felt bad at first.

But then she realized something else. He had dressed up a little for this. He looked as though he was having dinner with some important political figure; formal, as though it was the most important thing in the world.

And, best of all, he was smiling.

"Hello." He nodded politely at everyone. He stopped on Eichi. "Nice to see you again."

"Oh—oh, yeah," Eichi said with a smile. "You were that guy at the park, weren't you?"

"Yes."

"Well, everybody ready?" Meroko asked cheerfully. When everyone nodded, Meroko took Takuto's hand, Mitsuki took Eichi's, and the entire group of five went in.

* * *

They all sat down at a table and ordered fairly standard food—well, as standard as Italian food in Japan could get.

At first Meroko was afraid that the entire thing would be awkward—because of Izumi's presence, or because Takuto and Izumi somehow ended up sitting right next to each other, or that they would all run out of things to talk about before the food got there. She didn't have anything to worry about. They all looked happy, and were so busy talking that they barely noticed when the food arrived.

Near the end of the dinner, when everyone was happy and laughing and full of Italian food, Meroko looked around at everyone's faces, drinking in their expressions with joyful eyes.

_Everything really will be alright,_ she thought. _It all turned out alright in the end._

She looked up at the ceiling with a starry expression, feeling the warmth flood her heart.

_It really did._

**

* * *

And there you go. Everything's wrapped up nicely. But there's still an epilogue to go, so don't disappear yet!**

**Remember: this is your almost-last chance to vote in with your opinion on the trilogy idea! Almost-last chance, people! Put your opinions in now.**

**RRE.**


	13. Epilogue: Hello Letter

**And here we are, everybody. The epilogue of Fire and Rain.**

**I was originally going to try having it at the actual wedding of Takuto and Meroko, but then I realized that I know very little about weddings. So I decided to go for this instead. Hope you like it!**

_Dear Izumi,_

_Enclosed with this letter is an invitation to mine and Takuto's wedding._

…_Wow, that was blunt. Let me try that again (that is, if I haven't chased you off)._

_I don't know if you wanted an invitation or not. I mean, you have been good, all things considered. But I've also noticed that you haven't gone out with anyone since me. (And no, I have __not__ been following your every movement day and night. __God_

_Still, if I were you, I would want the option of coming to the wedding or throwing the invitation into the nearest fire. I'd want the chance to do whichever._

_I have to wonder which one you'll end up doing._

_It's only been a year since all of that stuff with you and me and Takuto happened. Sometimes it feels like it's been so much longer, but sometimes it feels like it was only yesterday. Amazing how that is._

_Okay…I didn't just write this letter to reminisce or remind you of your ability to throw an invitation into a fire. I also wanted to say thanks. You've been a great friend. I know this hasn't exactly been easy on you. You've probably wanted to kill Takuto a fair number of times. And maybe me, for all I know._

_But you've been really great. I understand why you did what you did before, and I don't hold it against you. I'm so, so glad that I've gotten to be your friend._

_Izumi, maybe…maybe this is the way things were supposed to be. I mean, I did have a great time when we were dating, and I really loved you back then. But maybe we were only ever meant to be friends._

_I'm sorry, that sounds so fatalistic, doesn't it? Sorry._

_Anyway, I should probably sign off—I'm meeting Eichi and Mitsuki for dinner. They're such a cute little married couple, aren't they? And also, I'm supposed to be helping Mitsuki pick a name for their baby. (Crap, I was supposed to be thinking about that the last week. Darn.)_

_Well, Izumi…like I said, the wedding invitation is in the envelope if you want it. I'd really appreciate it if you come, but I totally understand if you don't want to. It's your choice. Please don't come just to make me feel better._

_Goodbye, Izumi. Take care._

_Your friend,_

_Meroko_

_P.S. - If you ever do decide to date someone else...remember that girl I work with, Rei? Yeah, don't go anywhere near her. She is such a jerk._

**And there we have it. After almost a year, the story's finally over.**

**I've had a lot of fun writing this. I really have. It hasn't always been easy, but it's definitely been fun. Thank you all so much for your reviews and support. I've really appreciated it.**

**I originally didn't plan a trilogy for this, so the story is written in a way where this could be the end. But maybe there will be more? We'll see what the future brings. Keep checking my profile for updates on whether or not the trilogy thing will be happening.**

**And also, I have a bit of ****Fire and Rain****-related material posted on my forum, nevermore199's House of Random Stuff. Do go check it out, yes?**

**Well, until next time, folks.**

**RRE.**


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